Despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s interest in the conduct of an accurate census of persons and houses, all is not well with the planning.

A census, needed to facilitate data for economic planning, has not been held since 2006, whereas the United Nations (UN) recommends that it should be done every 10 years.

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu, who attended a meeting between the President and a National Population Commission (NPC) delegation yesterday, identified funding crisis as a problem.

President Tinubu himself identified what he described as stop-and-go activities of the NPC as another problem.

He proposed to set up a committee that will solve the planning problems to facilitate the census plan.

NPC Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra, raised the hope that the agency was on course to conduct the census, all other things being equal.

He told the President, according to a statement by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, that the 2006 census figures were no longer relevant in planning, particularly for key sectors that directly impact the population.

He added that 760,000 tablets to be used for inputting statistics during the headcount had been acquired and stored with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Kwarra said the commission would engage development partners for support whenever the NPC received the President’s nod to proceed with the census. 

The statement quoted the President as saying: “We must ascertain who we are, how many we are, and how to manage our data.

“Without an accurate census, we can’t successfully plan for employment, agriculture and food sovereignty.

“So, many problems come up without accurate data.

“We should work on our financial muscle well in place to lift our burden before we go and meet development partners for the census.

“We should work out the figures before discussing the role of development partners.

“This stop-and-go activity on the census cannot work with me. So, we better have a definite path.

“I will set up a committee for you to look at the issues critically and do a source and application of resources.

“Where can we get help, and what can we lift before we embark on proclamation?”

The President reiterated his commitment to ensuring accurate and reliable figures from the national census to strengthen development planning and improve living conditions through more efficient social security.

He noted that government incentives, such as the sale and distribution of fertilisers, could be easily improved with reliable data and demographics.

President Tinubu also told the delegation that biometric capturing with multiple identification features such as facial and voice recognition would be central to the census.  

The President told the team that he would set up a committee tasked with evaluating critical issues, identifying potential funding sources, and mapping out the application of resources to make the census a success. 

He also said that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) must be part of the review.

Bagudu told the President that lack of funds was primarily the cause of the delay in commencing the census.

The minister said census data was central to future planning and resource distribution.

He noted the President’s desire to have the census conducted but pointed out that lack of funds had been the drawback.

Bagudu said: “At a retreat for the ministers in 2023, Mr President, you reiterated your commitment to the census, so there is no doubt about your desire and commitment to have the census.

“In fact, at the last Federal Executive Council meeting, you asked me what the problem was, and I told you it was simply an issue of lack of ability to fund the census.

“Even today (yesterday), before this meeting, I called the NPC chairman and restated your commitment to the census.

“However, the commission and all of us in the team need to agree on the minimum amount we can source to support Mr President in making the final decision.

“The NPC indicated that 40 per cent of the funding for the 2006 census came from development partners.” 

Bagudu noted that the enumeration done by NPC so far had been helpful.

He said: “Mr President, we have been having ecosystem meetings to link the identity agencies, even the geo-spatial chaired by the ministry, because of our mandate as the supervising ministry of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

“So, the NPC, NBS, NIMC, Ministry Of Digital Economy, ministries/agencies  in charge of passport, social register, voters’ register, and even telecoms data have been meeting with the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) to see how much is available to the government regarding data and how much optimisation can take place.”