TheCable

Nasir Kwarra, chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), says no new date has been fixed for the conduct of the population and housing census.

In April 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the postponement of the population census.

The exercise was scheduled to be held between May 3 and 5, 2023. Nigeria last held a census in 2006.

The NPC had said the exercise was rescheduled so that the incoming administration of President Bola Tinubu would actively participate in it.

In July 2023, the NPC chairman, after meeting with Tinubu said the president would announce new dates for the census.

He noted that the delay in the conduct of the census would incur more expenses than the N200 billion earlier earmarked for the exercise.

Addressing State House correspondents on Wednesday at the end of the swearing-in of 17 NPC commissioners at the presidential villa, Kwarra said the commission had made recommendations to the president on the new date for the conduct of the census.

“No date has been approved for us yet but we have made recommendations to Mr President and we are awaiting his approval,” he said.

Kwarra said the oath-taking by the commissioners marked a critical step in assisting the commission to carry on with the preparation for the conduct of the census.

“Today, we witnessed the swearing-in of 17 commissioners. Last two weeks, we had one from Lagos state. We still have three more outstanding to make the full commission,” he said.

“So we would like to seize the opportunity to thank Mr. President for this appointment and for making sure that there’s no vacuum created in the commission.

“It actually positions us very well in the preparation for the census. You know it’s a national thing, so we have to be in every state of the federation, preparing for the census.

“If we don’t have a commissioner from that state, the pace for the preparation for the census will slow down because the director in the state alone cannot handle it.”