BY DAVID ADUGE-ANI, ABUJA
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially inaugurated a high-level committee on the forthcoming national population and housing census.
The committee, which was inaugurated at the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday, is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the upcoming census is timely, credible, and aligned with the country’s financial realities.
The committee is also expected to review the census budget, propose funding sources, and recommend a viable census date while ensuring coordination among relevant institutions.
The president urged the committee to approach its work with urgency, aiming to submit an interim report within three weeks to inform the census timeline and funding readiness.
He said that census is crucial for national development, highlighting the strategic importance of accurate population data for effective policy formulation, equitable resource distribution, and informed decision-making across various sectors.
Tinubu stressed the pivotal role of a technology-driven process in ensuring credible and verifiable results and the need for collaboration among all relevant agencies and stakeholders.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, who chairs the Presidential Committee on Population and Housing Census, assured the President that the committee would deliver its report within the three-week deadline.
In a statement by the director of public affairs, National Population Commission (NPC), Erelu Taibat Yemi Oloruntoba, the minister of Information, Alhaji Muhammed Idris Malagi, also a committee member, emphasised that accurate data is critical for planning across all sectors and that a credible census is the foundation for such data.
The Chairman of National Population Commission (NPC) Chairman, Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra, who will also serve as the Committee Secretary, said the Commission has already begun preparations for the national Population and Housing Census in collaboration with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and other relevant stakeholders.
Kwarra assured Nigerians that the National Population Commission remains committed to ensuring a credible, technology-driven enumeration that will support effective national planning and development.
The eight-member committee also includes the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji; Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote; the Principal Private Secretary to the President, Hakeem Muri Okunola; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Operations (Office of the Chief of Staff), Mrs Nathan-Marsh.
This inauguration follows President Tinubu’s directive to establish a committee to review the census budget and align it with the government’s current financial realities, which was discussed during his meeting with NPC Officials on 24th February 2025.