NPC requires additional N225.2b for training, fieldwork, trial census
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
An additional N225.2 billion is required on top of the N200 billion already budgeted to conduct the 2023 census, National Population Commission (NPC) Chairman Nasir Kwarra has told President Bola Tinubu.
Kwarra made the request when he met with Tinubu in Aso Rock, where he explained the additional N225.2 billion will cover training and fieldwork allowances, retraining of trainers, and a trial census.
A statement issued by Tinubu’s Communications and Strategy Adviser Dele Alake said the President noted at the meeting that population in urban centres across the country continue to increase because of extreme poverty and unemployment in rural areas.
Tinubu pledged his support for the NPC to conduct an accurate census and to personally come up with a new date for the National Population and Housing Census that was postponed in April.
He expressed concern over the delay in another census since the last one in 2006 and stressed the need for the NPC to be prudent in its assignment and to produce a credible and reliable census data going forward.
“It is disappointing that up until now we have not been able to conduct another enumeration of our people. I hope that this delay will be converted to a great opportunity in this electronic and digital age,” Tinubu said.
“The challenge is yours and I hope that during the demarcation you did, you would have noticed the migration of people to urban centres because of extreme poverty and unemployment.
“Digitalising the process will make your job easier and I don’t see why we don’t, by now, have a reliable database in Nigeria to identify ourselves and ascertain our numbers for planning purposes and in time of disaster.
“I have listened to you and we will support you. Accuracy and integrity of your data is very important to Nigerians and for our national economic development programmes.
“We will support you but you have to be prudent and be determined to make a name for yourself. Good luck.”
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Briefing on implementation status
Kwarra recounted the NPC was about to conduct the final training for the census before it got caught up with the transition programme for a new government and funding challenges, which prompted the postponement by former President Muhammadu Buhari, per reporting by Arise News.
He briefed Tinubu on the Implementation Status of the 2023 Population and Housing Census, and requested proclamation of a new census date later this year or early next year.
Kwarra also highlighted the funding challenges faced by the NPC, saying it is waiting on the President to support the Commission and give the go-ahead for the head count.
He announced the NPC has demarcated the entire country and the few places left will be done soon.
Kwarra said the NPC has also trained 60,000 instructors who will train enumerators and supervisors.
The NPC requested in a paper titled, “Implementation Status of the 2023 Population and Housing Census”, the release of its N31 billion capital allocation in the 2023 budget for census preparatory activities.
It put the total cost of the census, after a methodology review, at N546.72 billion.
Galvanising funds for the census
Tinubu was also asked to approve and convene a stakeholders’ meeting with the organised private sector and foreign partners to galvanise funds for the census.
Kwarra told him Nigeria has developed a database that can be useful in national planning, infrastructure development, and revenue generation for the treasury.
“NPC having completed Mapping in March 2022, tested the market with the geospatial data by making it available to researchers at a ‘test price’ where it generated over N50 million through REMITA,” he said.
“To this end, with a full integrated spatial and statistical data, government geospatial policy and coordination, NPC can generate up to 14 billion dollars and further save a lot of resources for the nation through automation of economic planning by 2028.”
Kwarra told journalists after the meeting that Tinubu said he will inform the NPC on a new date for the census after studying the report presented to him.
“We briefed him fully on the level of our preparedness, the outcomes that we envisage and I’ll like to say that Mr President has graciously approved to support the Commission in the conduct of census and our preparatory activities, though we’re not stuck at all, but he has given us the courage and the impetus to upscale our preparation.
“So we’ll continue our preparations and we’ll hear from him eventually, the date that the census will take place because we’ve made a submission to him that he will study before getting back to us.
“But as for the assurance of support, he has given that to us and we thank him immensely for this, and for also realising the importance of data for the purpose of national planning and development.”
