LIVE UPDATES
The 2023 Population and Housing Census, which was initially slated for May 3–7, 2023, has been postponed until a date to be selected by the incoming Administration with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari.
On Friday, April 28, 2023, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the President met with the Chairman of the National Population Commission and his team as well as some members of the Federal Executive Council.
The meeting reiterated the urgent need to conduct a Population and Housing Census, 17 years after the last Census, in order to gather up-to-date data that will drive the country's development goals and raise the standard of living for Nigerians, according to a statement from Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammad on Saturday, April 29.
According to the statement, Buhari noted that the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census has advanced significantly as a result of the completion of the country's Enumeration Area Demarcation, the holding of the first and second pretests, the hiring and training of ad hoc workers, the purchase of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and ICT infrastructures.
The President also praised the approach used by the Commission to carry out an accurate and trustworthy census, particularly the extensive use of technology that can produce a world-class census and build the groundwork for future censuses.
In order to maintain the improvements previously seen and build a foundation for the new administration to cement these accomplishments, he further instructed the Commission to carry out preparations for the conduct of the Population and Housing Census in 2023.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, as well as the Ministers of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and State, Mr. Clem Agba, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, all attended the meeting.
