The Director General of National Population Commission (NPC), Mr Nasir Isa-Kwarra, said Thursday that the agency plans to hold national census in April 2023.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of Council of State meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, Isa-Kwarra said the national census would be conditional after the general elections.
He said the commission would also conduct a pilot census in June after political parties have finished primary elections.
He said the commission would deploy high technology in the conduct of the 2023 national census.
“It is very crucial because I have highlighted that the Census is a very important exercise for the nation. Because through census we generate the data that we use for policy making, for planning, for development, by the three tiers of government, and the private sector, they all need this.
“If you are a private sector, you’re producing something, certainly, you need to know the population of an area if you want to create a market there.
“So, census data is very crucial, very important. Because, the data we’ve been using are just projections, estimation and are sort of obsolete, we need the actual census data to use for our planning,” he said.
Also speaking, Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa state said President Muhammadu Buhari would meet security chiefs Tuesday next week over worsening security situation following recommendations and comments by members of Council of State.
