We’ll require additional N225.2 billion to conduct 2023 National census — NPC appeals to President Tinubu

The National Population Commission, NPC, Thursday appealed t President Bola Tinubu for an additional N225.2 billion for it to conduct a hitch-free national population and housing census in the country.

NPC Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra made  the request while briefing the President about the activities of the Commission at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He sought the President’s approval for an additional N225.2 billion to cover training and fieldwork allowances, retraining of trainers, and the conduct of a second-class Trial Census.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake, explained that President  Tinubu, while receiving the NPC team noted that population in the urban centres across the country have continued to escalate as a result of the extreme poverty and unemployment in the rural areas.

He also pledged his unwavering support for the Commission in its task to conduct an accurate census exercise. The President, who will personally come up with new dates for the national population and housing census that was postponed last April emphasized the need for the commission to be prudent in its assignment and work towards producing census data that would be credible and reliable.

Earlier in his speech, the NPC Chairman noted that the Commission was on the verge of conducting the final training for the Census before they were caught up with the transition programme for a new government and funding challenges, necessitating the postponement of the exercise by the immediate-
past President.

He briefed the President on the Implementation Status of the 2023 Population and Housing Census, requesting the issuance of a proclamation for a new Census date later this year or early next year. Kwarra also highlighted the funding challenges faced by the Commission, saying they were waiting on the President to support PC and give the go-ahead for the conduct of the census.

He said the commission had demarcated the entire country, stating that only one or the two places were left and that this would be done soon. Kwarra said the commission had also trained 60,000 instructors that would further train enumerators and supervisors.

In a paper titled “Implementation Status of the 2023 Population and Housing Census”, the NPC requested the release of the allocated N31 billion capital allocation, in the 2023 budget, for
preparatory activities.
The commission put the total cost of the Census, after a methodology review, at N546.72 billion. President Tinubu was also asked to approve and convene a stakeholders meeting with the organized private sector and foreign partners to galvanise funds