In a press statement released on Saturday morning, it was announced that the President of Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has approved the postponement of the 2023 Population and Housing Census, which was originally scheduled for May 3-7, 2023, to a date to be determined by the incoming administration.
This decision was made after the President met with some members of the Federal Executive Council and the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, and his team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday, April 28, 2023.
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The press statement, signed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, quoted the President as saying that appreciable progress had been made in the preparation for and implementation of the census, but that he has directed the Commission to continue with preparations for the conduct of the census in order to sustain the gains already recorded and provide the basis for the incoming administration to consolidate these achievements.
The statement added that the President commended the methodology being put in place by the NPC 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.
It was also reiterated that the census is critical to the developmental goals of the country and improving the living standard of the Nigerian people, as it will collect up-to-date data.
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There have been calls from some quarters for the postponement of the census for reasons ranging from inadequate preparation, lack of funds, lack of training of supervisors for the exercise, credibility doubts raised by its timing, to security concerns, among other things.
