The Red Chamber has promised to push for the conduct of a national population census before the current administration ends in 2027.
This commitment was reiterated during a budget defense session with the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa Kwara.
The Chairman of the Committee on National Identity Management and Population (NIMP), Senator Abdul Ningi, said, “We will not rest on our oars until a census is conducted before this administration ends”.
He disclosed that the Red Chamber was getting ready to meet with President Bola Tinubu to emphasize the direness of conducting the census in 2025. “We will soon engage the President on this matter and formally write to him through the Senate President, highlighting the need for a census this year,” he said.
Likewise, Senator Olalere Oyewunmi highlighted the significance of compelling the President to prioritise the census.
Also, Senator Diket Plang lamented the nation’s dependence on estimated population figures, which hampers effective planning.
“It’s disheartening that we are still working with estimates in this modern age. How can we plan without knowing the exact population? It’s sad that 2024 passed without achieving 90 percent performance. According to him, we need to know our population, urging for a definitive count by 2025,” he said.
The population commission chief made sense of the fact that the census budget is yet to be completed, as they intend to integrate a biometric component into the process.
“We are waiting to incorporate the biometric aspect into this year’s budget and conduct a test run before meeting with the President. The President prefers a biometric model for the headcount, moving away from the conventional approach,” he said.
