President Bola Tinubu has turned down a N942 billion proposal by the National Population Commission (NPC) for the conduct of the national housing and population census.
Impeccable sources privy to the discussions between President Tinubu and the commission’s top officials on Monday, 24 February at the State House told Saturday PUNCH that the the President insisted on cost-cutting measures.
According to the insiders, the President Tinubu suggested the deployment of members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for the exercise.
After being briefed by officials of the NPC, led by its Chairman, Alhaji Nasir Kwarra, President Tinubu promised to set up a committee to align the census budget to the government’s present financial realities.
In a statement, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said: ‘This stop-and-go activity on the census cannot work with me. So, we better have a definite path’.
The President reportedly said: ‘I will set up a committee for you to look at the issues critically and do a source and application of resources. Where can we get help, and what can we lift before we embark on proclamation’?
Revealing more details on the development, one of the sources said that while the President wanted the census to be conducted, he insisted that the cost must be reduced.
The government official said: ‘The main issue from that meeting was that the money they were proposing was quite much. It is around N942 billion. That is almost N1 trillon. And the President felt that it was too much. That is why he said there would be a committee to look at the issues altogether because that cost must come down.
‘He wants to do it. He wants the census to happen. But the cost is too high. His goal is that they should do it for less’.
Another insider at the meeting further revealed that President Tinubu suggested a massive deployment of NYSC members nationwide to cut personnel costs.
‘He was even suggesting that they recruit youth corps members to make it cheaper’, the official said.
However, a third source said that the constituents and activities of the President’s new committee were still unclear.
‘We have heard nothing about that committee for now. It is still being put together as we speak. But the agencies concerned will be on it’, the source explained.
At the meeting, President Tinubu had affirmed that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) must be part of the review.
He said: ‘We must ascertain who we are, how many we are, and how to manage our data. Without an accurate census, we can’t successfully plan for employment, agriculture, and food sovereignty.
‘So many problems come up without accurate data’..
The President added that government incentives, such as the sale and distribution of fertilisers, could be easily improved with more reliable data and demographics.
He told the NPC delegation that biometric capturing should be central to the process, with multiple identification features, including facial and voice recognition.
According to him, ‘we should work on our financial muscle well in place to lift our burden before we go and meet development partners for the census. We should work out the figures before discussing the role of development partners’.
Since it last occurred in November 2006, Nigeria’s housing and population census has faced repeated delays and logistical hurdles since the twilight of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Although the NPC invested in new technology—such as digital mapping and biometric capture—to enhance accuracy and transparency, issues including inadequate funding, insecurity in certain regions, and the onset of COVID-19 contributed to a series of postponements.
The 2023 census, in particular, was deferred due to overlapping concerns, ranging from budget constraints to political transitions, making it difficult for stakeholders to finalise preparations before Buhari left office.
Under the Tinubu administration, plans to reschedule the census have equally faced difficulties, as the Federal Government remains uncertain over timing, methodology, and questions regarding how best to capture data on large, mobile populations, including internally displaced persons.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu said the census data would be central to future planning and resource distribution.
The Minister said the commission and everyone on the team needed to agree on the minimum amount that could be sourced to support the President in making the final decision.
‘Mr President, we have been having ecosystem meetings to link the identity agencies, even the geo-spatial chaired by the ministry, because of our mandate as the supervising ministry of the National Bureau of Statistics.
‘So, the NPC, NBS (National Bureau of Statistics), NIMC, Ministry of Digital Economy, passport, social register, voters register, and even telecoms data have been meeting with the National Space Research and Development Agency to see how much is available to the government regarding data and how much optimisation can take place’.
In his presentation, the NPC chairman noted that 760,000 tablets had been acquired and stored with the Central Bank of Nigeria, assuring the commission would engage with development partners to seek support whenever President Tinubu proclaimed the new census.
