Newly inaugurated Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Dr. Aminu Yusuf, has pledged to deliver a transparent and widely accepted national census, assuring Nigerians that the exercise will be conducted to earn public confidence.
Speaking with State House correspondents shortly after taking the oath of office alongside two commissioners, Yusuf said his priority is to ensure a credible headcount that citizens can trust.
“This country needs a transparent, acceptable census, which I have promised,” he said. “We will be transparent in everything we do so that, at the end, the census will be acceptable to Nigerians.”
He expressed confidence in the Commission’s leadership team, noting that the calibre of federal commissioners and the experience of the Director General give him no reason for concern.
Yusuf acknowledged that while the Commission has several mandates, most Nigerians primarily associate it with census activities.
Nigeria last conducted a housing and population census in November 2006, recording 140,431,790 people—71,345,488 males and 69,086,302 females. Since then, repeated delays, funding constraints, insecurity, and the COVID-19 pandemic have stalled subsequent attempts.
Despite significant investments in digital mapping and biometric technology under former President Muhammadu Buhari, the 2023 census was postponed due to budgetary and political transitions.
Efforts to reschedule the exercise under President Bola Tinubu have also faced challenges, including uncertainties around timing, methodology, and how to capture data from mobile and displaced populations.
“The stop-and-go approach to census cannot work with me. We need a definite path,” Tinubu declared during a meeting with NPC officials on February 24, 2025.
The PUNCH earlier reported that former NPC Chairman Dr. Nasir Kwarra submitted a N942bn census budget to Tinubu, which the President rejected, insisting on cost-cutting measures, including deploying youth corps members for the exercise. He then ordered the creation of a committee to align the budget with current fiscal realities.
On April 16, 2025, Tinubu inaugurated a high-level census committee at the State House and directed it to submit an interim report by May 7, 2025.