By Ekebuisi Okorocha (Abuja)

The National Population Commission ( NPC) declared on  Wednesday that it would require N532.7billion  to conduct national census in April 2023 .

Chairman of the Commission , Alhaji Nasir Isa Kwarra made the disclosure to members of the Senate Committee on National Population and Identity Management during  2023 budget defence session with the committee .

Accordingly, the NPC boss explained that an estimated sum of N532.7billion is purely proposal for conduct of the 2023 census which he said would be digitally done .

” Aside the N10billion budgetary proposal for 2023 fiscal year earmarked for NPC , the sum of N532. 795, 604, 726billion is estimated for conduct of 2023 Census .

” NPC is ready to re- write the history of census in Nigeria by making the 2023 one not only accurate , credible , reliable but acceptable to all Nigerians “, he said .

He added that the proposed sum for conduct of 2023 census, covers post enumeration survey and that the exercise will be a great departure from the past in terms of keying into the issue of climate change .

In the 2023 budgetary proposal for the agency , Kwarra said envelope of N1.05billion was earmarked for capital expenditure , N655million for overhead and N8.6billion for personnel .

For the 2022 fiscal year , the NPC boss said a total of N206.85billion was appropriated for the commission out which N107.7billion was earmarked for capital expenditure, N615million for overhead and N7.8billion for personnel cost .

However ,   the Chairman of the Committee , Senator Sahabi Ya’u ( APC Zamfara North) , told the NPC boss to furnish the committee with details of projects  executed with the 2022 appropriation line by line  and those proposed for the 2023 fiscal year .

Request by the NPC boss  to decorate Chairman and members of the committee as  2023 Census Ambassadors at the beginning of the session was however turned down.