President Bola Tinubu has announced plans to establish a committee tasked with aligning the national census budget with the government’s current financial realities.
This decision follows a meeting with officials from the National Population Commission (NPC), led by Chairman Nasir Kwarra, at the State House in Abuja .
According to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, who released the details of the meeting in a statement titled ‘Nigeria moves closer to fresh census, President Tinubu to set up committee, disclosed that the committee will focus on reviewing the census budget to ensure it aligns with the government’s financial capabilities.
This move is seen as a pragmatic step towards conducting a successful census despite the current financial constraints.
The NPC officials briefed the President on the preparations for the upcoming national population and housing census, which is expected to provide vital data for national development.
With the committee in place, the government aims to ensure a transparent and efficient use of resources for the census exercise.
The president said; “This stop-and-go activity on the census cannot work with me. So we better have a definite path.”
“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?”
“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,” Tinubu continued.
