The Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the postponement of the 2023 Population and Housing Census, originally scheduled for 3-7 May 2023, to a date determined by the incoming administration.
Friday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the President gave his assent after meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council and the Chairman of the National Population Commission and his team.
In reaching the decision to postpone the Census, the meeting reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a Population and Housing Census, 17 years after the last Census, in order to collect up-to-date data that will drive the country’s development goals and improve the Nigerian people’s standard of living.
With the completion of the countrywide Enumeration Area Demarcation, the first and second pretests, the recruitment and training of adhoc workers, and the acquisition of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and ICT infrastructures, significant progress has been made in implementing the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
In addition, he lauded the methodology being implemented by the Commission in order to conduct an accurate and trustworthy census, particularly the massive deployment of technology that is capable of delivering a world-class census and establishing a sustainable foundation for future censuses.
The President further directed the Commission to continue preparations for the 2023 Census of Population and Housing in order to sustain the gains already made and provide the foundation for the incoming administration to consolidate these gains.
The meeting was attended by Mr. Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture; Mr. Clem Agba, Minister of State, Budget and National Planning; and Mr. Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
