The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, has stated that the Presidential Committee on Population and Housing Census is an ad hoc technical body established to advise President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the funding sources and technicality for the upcoming enumeration of Nigerians.
A statement on the X account of the ministry stated that the minister spoke at the committee’s inaugural meeting.
Bagudu said the committee was distinct from the National Population Commission, the body legally mandated to plan, coordinate, and conduct population and housing censuses in the country.
He explained that the committee was an ad hoc advisory body created to provide targeted guidance on specific areas of census planning and resourcing, emphasising that members were appointed based on their offices’ strategic responsibilities.
Bagudu stated that the committee’s role was to advise strictly within its five-point terms of reference, which included conducting a thorough review of the existing census budget to ensure alignment with current fiscal realities and national priorities.
He listed other terms as recommendations for feasible funding sources for the census, distinguishing between domestic resources and external partnerships, while developing a comprehensive resource mobilisation strategy that considers engagement with potential development partners, international agencies, and domestic private sector entities.
The minister stated that the ad hoc body would also evaluate the National Population Commission (NPC)’s existing preparations, logistics, and technical capacities, and recommend immediate strengthening of any areas that require improvement. It would also recommend an optimal and realistic date for the next population and housing census, funding availability, and other relevant national considerations.
Highlighting the enormity of the committee’s task, he said, “A national census is not a routine administrative exercise; it is a sovereign investment in evidence-based governance. As we confront new challenges in urbanisation, security, food systems, public health, and social protection, the need for up-to-date population and housing data is not simply desirable but foundational. The assignment before this committee is therefore urgent and consequential.”
Meanwhile, the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation of House Standing and Ad hoc Committees, Obi Aguocha, has kicked against the exclusion of the South East geopolitical zone from the Presidential Committee on Population and Housing Census, calling for a reconstitution.
Aguocha noted that if the process is questionable, there is no way the outcome of the population census will be credible, fair and acceptable.
Speaking in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Monday, Aguocha noted that the exclusion of the South East geopolitical zone from membership of the committee requires its reconsideration.
