The Nigerian Population and Housing Census is scheduled for November 20, 2024, according to the National Population Commission (NPC).
The idea, according to NPC Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra, is contingent upon President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval, as stated during a news conference commemorating the 2024 World Population Day.
According to Kwarra, the commission was seventy percent prepared to conduct the census, and the non-availability of Nigeria’s demographic statistics would not stop the country from participating in the UN 2020 Round of demographic & Housing Censuses.
Recall that Nigeria has not performed a national census in the previous eighteen years. Although there was expectation that one would take place in 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari called off the census at the end of his presidency.
He said: “In the beginning of the year, we wanted to conduct a census in November, but we are waiting for that nod. If that is given, we will swing into action and before the end of 2024 we will be able to conduct a very good census for Nigeria. We are still prepared. A lot of money has been spent. Since it is a digital census, we have over 760,000 PDAs that we are supposed to use for the census. This equipment has been bought for over a year now. With such equipment, if you don’t use them and the batteries go down, we run the risk of losing a lot of these facilities. It is important we have the resources to kick-start the process.”
Continuing, he also mentioned that the commission now had digital maps for the census and other surveys, and that once the census was finished, the nation will have the necessary information to follow each and every individual.
Adeyemi Adeniran, the Statistician General of the Federation, stated that information gathered from the census was essential to the nation’s growth and assisted in addressing certain problems that led to poverty.
