President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the postponement of the 2023 Population and Housing Census, earlier scheduled to hold between May 3 and May 7.
The postponement is contained in a statement issued by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed.
Muhammed stated that the incoming administration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu will determine a new date for the enumeration exercise.
Buhari gave the approval after meeting with his cabinet members, Chairman of NPC and his team in Abuja on Friday.
In arriving at the decision to postpone the Census, the meeting reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a census, 17 years after the last Census.
It is “to collect up-to-date data to drive nation’s developmental goals and improve living standard of the Nigerian people”.
The President noted that the commission had made appreciable progress in the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
Read Related News:
FEC approves N49bn for Enugu-Anambra link road
No Nigerian died in the Sudanese conflict – FG
Rivers LG inaugurates committee on 2023 census
According to the statement, the commission has completed Enumeration Area Demarcation of the country, conducted first and second pretests.
It has also recruited and trained ad-hoc workers, procured Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and ICT infrastructures.
Buhari also commended the methodology adopted by the commission to conduct accurate and reliable census.
This included deployment of technology that is capable of delivering world-class census and laying a sustainable basis for future censuses.
The President further directed the commission to continue with preparations for the conduct of the 2023 census in order to sustain the gains already recorded.
This, he said, would provide the basis for the incoming administration to consolidate these achievements.
Do you have a flair for Citizenship Journalism? Share story(ies) of happenings in your area with The NewsZenith on WhatsApp: 08033668669 or thenewszenith@gmail.com
