The 2023 Population and Housing Census, which was initially slated for May 3–7, 2023, has been postponed until a date to be selected by the incoming Administration.
This decision was the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari after a meeting with the Chairman of the National Population Commission and his team as well as some members of the Federal Executive Council, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, on Friday.
The meeting was attended by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami; the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed; the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha.
Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, made this information public via a statement issued on Saturday.
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The Minister noted that in arriving at 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. This is on order to collect up-to-date data that will drive the developmental goals of the country and improve the living standard of the Nigerian people.
The statement said Buhari noted that with the completion of the Enumeration Area Demarcation of the country, conduct of first and second pretests, the recruitment and training of adhoc workers, procurement of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and ICT infrastructures, appreciable progress has been made in the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
The President also commended the methodology being put in place by the Commission to conduct accurate and reliable Census, especially the massive deployment of technology that is capable of delivering world class Census and laying a sustainable basis for future censuses.
He further directed the Commission to continue with preparations for the conduct of the 2023 Population and Housing Census in order to sustain the gains already recorded and provide the basis for the incoming administration to consolidate these achievements.
