The ad hoc technical committee set up by President Bola Tinubu to provide recommendations on funding and coordination for the upcoming national census has concluded its assignment and submitted its report to the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning  Abubakar Bagudu, who chairs the committee.

The Director of the Public Affairs Department at the National Population Commission, Taibat Oloruntoba, confirmed the development to The PUNCH on Tuesday.

President Tinubu had on April 16 2025, inaugurated a high-level committee to develop a framework for the planned national population and housing census.

Speaking with our correspondent on Tuesday, Oloruntoba clarified that the body is not a census implementation committee, but an advisory one tasked with developing a framework to guide the financing and institutional coordination of the planned national enumeration exercise.

“The committee was set up to identify funding sources, assess the financial requirements, and examine whether the economy can support the census.

“It also looked into how government agencies, particularly the NPC and the National Identity Management Commission, can collaborate effectively,” she explained.

Initially scheduled for May 2023, the census was postponed indefinitely during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari to allow the incoming Tinubu administration to assume responsibility.

During this period, the NPC estimated that N532.7bn would be required to conduct the census.

This figure was later revised upward to N869bn by the then Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba.

Despite the postponement in 2023, the NPC reported spending N200bn on planning and partial execution of the census.

According to  Oloruntoba, the new committee, which was given a timeline of about three weeks, had held a series of meetings to compare strategies, evaluate institutional capacities, and outline a comprehensive resource mobilisation strategy.

This included recommendations for both domestic and international funding sources, with particular emphasis on engaging development partners, donor agencies, and private sector stakeholders.

Though the specifics of the report have not been made public, the director noted that the contents are currently being reviewed by the committee chairman, who will forward them to the President for further action.

“The job has been done. The committee has submitted its report. It is now left to the President to determine the next steps,” she said.

The members of the committee are the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue, Zach Adedeji; the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission, Bisoye Coker-Odusote; the Principal Private Secretary to the President, Hakeem Muri-Okunola; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration (Office of the Chief of Staff), Temilola Adekunle-Johnson; and NPC Chairman Nasir Kwarra (who serves as secretary).

Nigeria has been overdue for a national population and housing census since 2016.

The last enumeration exercise, held in 2006, recorded a population of over 140 million. That data remains the foundation for national planning despite significant demographic shifts.

Efforts to conduct a new census have repeatedly stalled due to security concerns, funding challenges, and political considerations.

The lack of current demographic data has hampered policy planning, the delivery of social services, and the equitable distribution of resources. Global standards recommend a national census every 10 years.