President Bola Tinubu is set to announce new dates for the national population and housing census, which was previously postponed in April, News About Nigeria reports.
The chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Kwarra, revealed this information to journalists at the presidential villa in Abuja after briefing the president.
This meeting between President Tinubu and Kwarra comes after a nine-week delay in the census, which was originally postponed by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Despite the postponement, Buhari instructed the commission to continue with the preparations for the 2023 census, aiming to maintain the progress made so far and establish a foundation for the incoming administration.
Initially scheduled for March 27, the census was later rescheduled to May 3 – 5 due to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to shift the governorship election from March 11 to March 18.
During a forum with the diplomatic corps in Abuja on April 27, Kwarra revealed that the NPC had not yet acquired all the necessary devices for the census.
He also mentioned that they were expecting donations from the private sector and other key stakeholders.
In early April, the Federal Government gave its approval to two contracts valued at N15.3 billion.
These contracts aimed to facilitate the provision and installation of information and communication technology components, along with digital assistance devices, for the upcoming census.
Garba Shehu, the former senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, informed journalists that one of the approved contracts was for the supply and installation of ICT components amounting to approximately N10.9 billion.
The other contract was for the development and implementation of a mobile device management solution for the personnel’s digital assistance devices to be used during the census, costing around N4.4 billion.
It is worth noting that Nigeria’s last census took place in 2006, making the upcoming census a significant milestone for the country’s demographic data.
