This is contained in an official Statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Aleke on Thursday, July 6, 2023
President Tinubu emphasized the importance of prudence in the commission's assignment and the need for them to produce credible and reliable census data.
After receiving a briefing from NPC Chairman Nasir Isa Kwarra, the President expressed concern over the delay in conducting another enumeration since the last exercise in 2006.
He urged the NPC to view this delay as an opportunity to leverage the advantages of the current electronic and digital age.
President Tinubu stated that it was disappointing that another enumeration had not been conducted thus far.
He hoped that the delay could be turned into an opportunity, given the advancements in electronic and digital technologies.
He encouraged the NPC to leverage digitalization to make the census process easier and create a reliable database for identification, planning purposes, and disaster management.
Assuring the NPC of his support, the President emphasized the importance of accuracy and integrity in the data collected for the benefit of Nigerians and the country's economic development. He encouraged the commission to be prudent and determined in their efforts to establish a name for themselves.
NPC Chairman Kwarra briefed the President on the implementation status of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
He explained that the commission had faced challenges due to the transition to a new government and funding constraints, which led to the postponement of the census.
Kwarra requested the President to issue a proclamation for a new census date later in the year or early the following year.
Kwarra also highlighted the funding challenges faced by the commission and requested the President's support to proceed with the census.
He mentioned that the demarcation process was almost complete, with only one or two places remaining. Additionally, the commission had trained 60,000 instructors who would further train enumerators and supervisors.
In a paper titled "Implementation Status of the 2023 Population and Housing Census," the NPC requested the release of the allocated N31 billion capital allocation from the 2023 budget for preparatory activities. The total cost of the census, after a methodology review, was estimated at N546.72 billion.
Kwarra also requested an additional N225.2 billion for training and fieldwork allowances, retraining of trainers, and the conduct of a second-class Trial Census.
President Tinubu was asked to approve and convene a stakeholders meeting with the organized private sector and foreign partners to raise funds for the census.
Kwarra informed the President about Nigeria's developed database, which could contribute to national planning, infrastructure development, and government revenue generation.
He highlighted the potential for the NPC to generate up to 14 billion dollars and further save a lot of resources for the nation through automation of economic planning by 2028.
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