NPC Pushes for Census as Senate Approves 2025 Budget
By Sowulati Albert
Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa Kwarra last week led a delegation to present the Commission’s 2024 Budget Performance and defend the proposed 2025 budget before the Senate Committee on National Identity Card and Population in Abuja.
Kwarra however maintained that the 2025 budget does not include the upcoming Population and Housing Census, as a separate budget will be submitted once presidential approval is obtained.
The chairman highlighted that the next census will be biometric-based to ensure accuracy and credibility, aligning with the 2030 round of censuses and President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He noted Nigeria’s absence from the 2020 census round and the focus on integrating biometric features into the digital framework for the next census.
The NPC Chairman acknowledged the Senate Committee’s support in amending laws to reflect recent digitization efforts in Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) and census processes. He reiterated the Commission’s readiness to conduct the next census, emphasizing collaboration with the National Assembly to ensure timely execution.Senator Abdul Ningi,
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Chairman of the Senate Committee, commended Kwarra’s efforts and underscored the public’s expectation for reliable census data crucial for planning and development. Ningi expressed willingness to engage President Tinubu to fix a date for the census, emphasizing its importance in addressing social and economic challenges.Senator Olalere Oyewumi lamented Nigeria’s reliance on foreign data sources for planning, stressing the urgency of meeting with President Tinubu to convey the importance of the next census.
Senators Aminu Tambuwal and Diket Plang pledged support for conducting the census, highlighting the detrimental effects of delays on national credibility. The Senate Committee approved the budget proposal while reaffirming the need for immediate action to ensure a credible national census in 2025. This approval followed Kwarra’s successful defense of the Commission’s 2025 budget proposal at the House of Representatives last week.
