By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The Chairman of the National Population Census (NPC), Nasir Isa Kwarra, on Thursday said a new date will be fixed for the postponed 2023 population and housing census by the country’s President, Bola Tinubu.
Earlier scheduled for May 3 to 7, 2023, by the immediate past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the exercise was postponed to a date to be determined by the Tinubu administration.
Despite the postponement of the exercise, preparation alone gulped a humongous amount of money. It was estimated to have cost N200 billion ($429.6m), an amount the commission said it spent in the last eight years.
This is in response to the speculations that the said amount was expended in the postponed exercise alone.
The commission’s Director of Public Affairs Isiaka Yahaya said the insinuation that the sum was spent on 2023 population and housing census preparation was wrong, noting that the commission has been preparing for the census since 2014.
But after a meeting with President Tinubu on Thursday, the NPC boss told State House reporters that further delay in the conduct of the census will incur additional expenses, adding that he briefed him on the commission’s preparations for the census.
He said the President was fully apprised of extant plans and processes for the exercise but noted that further delays in the conduct of the census will amount to additional cost for the government.
He, however, explained that the preparations for the exercise which has already gulped N100bn, is a huge investment for the country, adding that subsequent exercises would be less expensive.
