Tinubu Inaugurates Census Committee, Emphasizes Technology, Three-Week Timeline

By Oluwadara Akingbohungbe

In a decisive move to update Nigeria’s demographic data, President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday inaugurated a special committee on the national population and housing census, giving the panel just three weeks to submit its interim report.

The ceremony at the State House in Abuja saw the President, represented by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, stress the importance of technology in ensuring a credible count, nearly two decades after the last census in 2006.

READ ALSO: Address Insecurity Or Tinubu Must Declare Emergency In Ondo – PDP To Aiyedatiwa

“Work with all relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. This ministry has to take charge of this because you cannot budget if you do not know how many we are,” Tinubu directed. “We expect you will touch on the technology area because the census must be technology-driven. Things have changed since the last time that we conducted this exercise. The enumeration has to be technology-driven with biometrics and digitalisation.”

READ MORE: Tinubu Boosted Inmate Feeding Budget By 50% — NCoS Debunks Hunger Claims In Prisons

The committee is chaired by Budget and Economic Planning Minister Senator Atiku Bagudu, who assured of their readiness to meet the deadline. He noted that despite global economic challenges, Nigeria is making steady progress under the current administration.

National Population Commission Chairman Nasir Isa Kwarra, who serves as committee secretary, confirmed that preliminary work has already begun. The last census recorded 140,431,790 Nigerians, with 71,345,488 males and 69,086,302 females.