President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inaugurated a committee tasked with overseeing the upcoming national population and housing census. The committee is expected to submit an interim report within three weeks.
The inauguration ceremony, held at the State House in Abuja, was represented by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila. According to a statement from Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu underscored the critical importance of the census for national development, accurate planning, and informed decision-making in key sectors such as healthcare, education, security, and the economy.
The President called for a technologically driven census process to ensure credibility and verifiability of the results, urging the committee to work closely with all relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. He stressed that effective budgeting cannot be achieved without knowing the actual population figures.
He urged the committee to explore both domestic and international funding options for the exercise, saying, “The enumeration has to be driven by technology—biometrics, digitalisation, and all. The world has moved on since our last census.”
Committee Chairman and Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, assured the President that the group will meet the three-week deadline. He recalled the President’s earlier advice for ministers to work creatively within available resources, especially under current economic constraints. Bagudu noted improvements in Nigeria’s economic indicators, including currency stability and economic growth.
The committee’s focus will include exploring resource mobilisation strategies to finance the census. Minister of Information, Muhammed Idris, also a member of the committee, reiterated the importance of credible data for national planning.
Chairman of the National Population Commission, Nasir Kwarra, who will serve as the committee’s secretary, said groundwork has already begun, with key requirements identified to guide the President’s decision on the conduct of the census. He reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to a reliable, technology-based enumeration process that will support national development.
The eight-member committee includes top officials such as the Minister of Finance, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Director General of the National Identity Management Commission, the Principal Secretary to the President, and the Senior Special Assistant on Administration and Operations.
Nigeria’s last population census was conducted in 2006, nearly two decades ago, recording a population of 140,431,790, comprising 71,345,488 males and 69,086,302 females.
