President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the postponement of the 2023 Population and Housing Census, earlier scheduled for 3rd to 7th May 2023. A new date will be fixed by the incoming administration, which takes office on 29th May.
The President gave the approval after meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council and the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Alhaji Nasir Isa-Kwarra, and his team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday.
This is the second time in a month that the exercise will be postponed. It was initially scheduled for 27th to 29th March but was shifted to 3rd to 5th May.
NPC had given several assurances that the exercise would hold on the rescheduled date. Earlier this week, it assured of the safety of its server and data, while debunking a statement by its Comptroller in charge of Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State, Mr Sanusi Maigida that the NPC server had been hacked.
In a statement on Saturday morning, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said: “In arriving at the decision to postpone the census, the meeting reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a Population and Housing Census, 17 years after the last census, to collect up-to-date data that will drive the developmental goals of the country and improve the living standard of the Nigerian people”.
Mohammed quoted President Buhari as saying that appreciable progress had been made in the preparation for and implementation of the now postponed census, adding that the President commended the methodology being put in place by the NPC to conduct accurate and reliable census.
“The President noted that with the completion of the Enumeration Area Demarcation of the country, conduct of first and second pre-tests, the recruitment and training of ad hoc workers, procurement of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and ICT infrastructures, appreciable progress has been made in the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
“He also commended the methodology being put in place by the Commission to conduct accurate and reliable Census, especially the massive deployment of technology that is capable of delivering world class Census and laying a sustainable basis for future censuses”, the Minister further said.”
The statement added: “The President further directed the commission to continue with preparations for the conduct of the 2023 Population and Housing Census in order to sustain the gains already recorded and provide the basis for the incoming administration to consolidate these achievements.
“The meeting was attended by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami; the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed; the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mr. Clem Agba and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha”, the statement concluded.
There had been indications that the 2023 census would be postponed. The reasons included inadequate preparation, lack of funds, lack of training of supervisors for the exercise, credibility doubts raised by its timing, and security concerns.
He said the new date for the census will be determined by the incoming administration.
On Friday, a Federal High Court in Abuja rejected an application seeking to halt the census.
Omotuyi Ademola had approached the court with an ex parte application seeking a postponement for six months.
He prayed the court to declare that the NPC is currently underfunded and therefore unprepared to conduct a credible, effective and constitutional census.
However, Justice Inyang Ekwo refused to grant the motion ex parte and asked the applicant to put the defendant – the NPC – on notice.
Justice Ekwo said that the NPC should appear in court to show cause why the applicant’s motion should not be granted.
The matter was adjourned until 5th May.
