The National Population Commission (NPC) has announced its readiness to conduct a nationwide census from June 2021.
The chairman of the NPC, Nasir Kwarra, said this at a press conference titled ‘Accelerating Nigeria’s Demographic Dividend: Process and Progress so far’, on Monday.
He said the census would be conducted from mid-2021 to early 2022.
Kwarra noted that he is aware the census has been delayed for five years and that the commission is in talks with the government to give them a directive, adding that the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) exercise has begun in preparation for the possible census.
He said, “The issue of a census is at the front burner. We know that on our part we have already been delayed for about 5 years, but we are doing our best to speak with the government so that they can make a proclamation”, he said.
“We have been conducting enumeration area demarcation in the country; we’ve covered 460 local governments. Right now we’re undertaking the exercise in 96 local governments throughout the country and by the end of June, we are hoping to finish the 774 local governments.”
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved N10 billion for the Enumeration Area Demarcation exercise back in October, including an additional N4.5 billion in the 2021 budget for completion of the exercise as part of the preparations for the next census.
