The National Population Commission (NPC) has proposed November 2024 for the Nigerian Population and Housing Census.
The NPC Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra, made this known during a press conference held to mark the 2024 World Population Day.
Kwarra said that the proposed date remains subject to the approval of President Bola Tinubu.
According to Kwarra, “The commission is 70 per cent ready to conduct the census, adding that the delay in Nigeria having data of its population would not prevent the country from achieving the UN 2020 Round of Population & Housing Censuses.
“In the beginning of the year, we wanted to conduct a census in November, but we are waiting for that nod. If that is given, we will swing into action and before the end of 2024 we will be able to conduct a very good census for Nigeria. We are still prepared. A lot of money has been spent. Since it is a digital census, we have over 760,000 PDAs that we are supposed to use for the census.
“This equipment has been bought for over a year now. With such equipment, if you don’t use them and the batteries go down, we run the risk of losing a lot of these facilities. It is important we have the resources to kick-start the process.”
“The commission now had digital maps for the census and other surveys, and that the completion of the census would provide the country with relevant data to track every citizen in the country,” he added.
Speaking during the press briefing, Adeyemi Adeniran, the Statistician General of the Federation, said that census data is vital for the country’s development and plays a key role in addressing issues that contribute to poverty.
