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Tag: Census

  • Mentally-challenged and homeless persons will be counted during census – NPC

    Mentally-challenged and homeless persons will be counted during census – NPC

    Mentally-deranged and homeless people will reportedly be captured in the upcoming 2023 housing and population counting.

    Prince Diran Iyantan, the NPC Federal Commissioner representing Ondo State disclosed this during a one-day capacity-building workshop for the 2023 population and housing census publicity committee, held in Akure on Wednesday, April 19.

    Iyantan also assured Nigerians that the 2023 census would have at least 98 per cent success.

    The State Director of NPC, Mr Oluyemi Falusi, on the other hand said digitisation of the census was in line with UN recommendations. Falusi said the 2023 exercise would be the first digital census to be conducted by Nigeria, adding that it would facilitate faster processes, reduce error, track progress, ensure efficiency and ensure prompt publication of results, among others

    The NPC Director also said the training, recruiting, deployment, conduct, analysis and publication and other processes of the exercise are fully digitalised.

    Falusi who further revealed that a 5-tier strategy being deployed for quality assurance, robust monitoring and evaluation system had been set up, concluded by stating that there would be a call centre and a situation room in the state to assess the daily progress of the exercise.

  • NPC, Reaffirms Commitment To Accurate Data For National Planning Ahead Of Census

    NPC, Reaffirms Commitment To Accurate Data For National Planning Ahead Of Census

    From Leo Zuanke, Nasarawa

    The National Population Commission (NPC) has reaffirmed its commitment to providing accurate demographic data for effective national planning through the forthcoming national census.

    The Federal Commissioner representing Nasarawa State at the NPC, Mr. Silas Ali Agara, made this known in an interview with our correspondent, in Lafia Friday.

    Recall that the last census in Nigeria was conducted in 2006, and the law stipulates that it should be conducted every ten years.

    With less than 25 days to the 2023 national census, Mr. Agara assured Nigerians that the Commission is fully prepared to provide dependable data for effective planning and policy making.

    He noted that “over 70,000 residents of Nasarawa State have applied for adhoc engagement with the Commission, but only 15,000 personnel are needed for the exercise.”

    He also stated that the Commission has put all necessary measures in place to ensure that the forthcoming national census would be the best in the history of the nation.

    Mr. Agara commended the efforts of the Nasarawa State Government, the Traditional institution, and the media in creating a good platform for the smooth conduct of the forthcoming census exercise in the state.

    He advised residents to support the efforts of the Commission for a more reliable data that will accelerate development in the country.

  • Election Postponement May Affect Commencement Of 2023 Census – NPC

    Election Postponement May Affect Commencement Of 2023 Census – NPC

    The commencement of the 2023 national housing and population census earlier slated for March 29 is likely to be affected by the postponement of the governorship and state assembly elections.

    This is according to the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Mr Nasir Kwarra, who was speaking at a meeting with the resident representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Abuja.

    The state elections which were earlier scheduled to hold on March 11, have now been scheduled for March 18 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Although no specific date is fixed for the commencement of the exercise, Mr Kwarra told reporters that he will consult with President Muhammadu Buhari for a suitable date for the national census.

    On her part, the resident representative of the United Nations Population Fund, Ms Ulla Mueller, pledged the support of UNFPA in ensuring the success of the exercise.

    While reiterating the significance of the exercise to the attainment of the sustainable development goal, Mueller explained that the conduct of a post-enumeration survey will also give credibility to the census.

    In support of the post-enumeration survey, the UNFPA presented sixteen high-capacity computers for the conduct of the post-enumeration survey.

  • President Buhari Approves Conduct Of Trial Census Nationwide

    President Buhari Approves Conduct Of Trial Census Nationwide

    By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto

    Going by the fact that Nigeria is becoming populous everyday in terms of human resources, General Muhammad Buhari has approved the conduct of the trial census in June 2022 and population and housing census in April 2023.

    Addressing newsmen on the activities of the National Population Commission, the Federal Commissioner representing Sokoto state, Dr. Chiso Abdullahi Dattijo said in view of the approval, the Commission has carried out the demarcation of the entire land mass of Nigeria into small Enumeration Areas that can be covered by a team of enumrators.

    “The trial census which is also known as the ” census dress rehearsal “, is another key preparatory activity for the census”, averred the Commissioner.

    He said it is a process in which all census operations are tested in a detailed and comprehensive manner.

    While outlining the date for the conduct of trial census slated for 27th June to 30th of July 2022,the Chairman also discussed the objectives of the trial census as well as coverage, recruitment of personnel’s and training and fieldwork among others.

    The Commissioner similarly appealed to security agents in selected LGAs to assist in providing security for their functionaries and materials.

  • FG To Recruit 1 Million Nigerians For 2023 Census – NPC

    FG To Recruit 1 Million Nigerians For 2023 Census – NPC

    The National Population Commission (NPC) has said a total of one million Nigerians will be recruited by the federal government for the conduct of the 2023 national census.

    The commission assured that a reliable technological innovation had been advanced by the NPC for the conduct of the exercise to prevent politicians and interested elite from hijacking or manipulating the process.

    The commissioner representing Ekiti at the NPC, Mr Deji Ajayi, said this in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, at a press conference heralding the trial census to be conducted in the state preparatory to next year’s main census exercise.

    The former Ekiti State’s head of service added that nine towns across nine local governments selected out of the 16 LGAs in the state, had been delineated into Enumerated Areas (EAs) to ease the trial census.

    He pointed out areas to be enumerated in the trial census as Ado, Emure, Iro, Ijero, Ikole, Iworoko, Ise, Ikun and Omuo Ekiti.

    Explaining the significance of census to nation building, Ajayi said population statistics would be used by private organisations to plan for the recruitment of young Nigerians by knowing the number of the active population.

    “The government will also use such statistics to plan for our youth, students and the health needs of Nigerians. They will also know the number of senior citizens who should be catered for.”

    Assuring that the exercise will be difficult to manipulate, the NPC boss said, “The biometric technology will capture your face and fingerprints and goes to the server and any similar information supplied will be noticed and expunged from the data immediately.

  • Population Census Confirmed for Next Year

    Population Census Confirmed for Next Year

    A national population and housing census, which was last held in Nigeria 15 years ago, will hold in the country next year, thanks to the N178.09 billion approved for the exercise in the 2022 Appropriation Bill.

    The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, who made the disclosure during the public presentation and breakdown of Budget 2022 in Abuja, yesterday, stated that President Muhammadu Buhari would make a proclamation on the planned 2022 headcount soon.

    Ahmed explained that the recent review of the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) was motivated by a number of factors, including the need to provide the funds for the headcount.
    The last population census held in 2006, puts the nation’s population at 140 million people, but was plagued by political interference, from design through to implementation.

    Since then, Nigeria has not conducted a population census, relying on estimates from Worldometre, an arm of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

    In December 2020, the National Population Commission (NPC) announced that an estimated 206 million people were living in Nigeria, an increase of eight million people in two years, against the 198 million it announced in 2018.
    The finance minister also revealed an additional N100 billion in the 2022 Budget estimates to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepare for the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

    Giving further insight into why the MTEF was reviewed, the minister said the increase in the expenditure side was also motivated by the need to provide for additional critical expenditures, as well as the need to present a more comprehensive FGN Budget.

    Other critical expenditures in the 2022 budget estimates include N400 billion for National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy; N50 billion Police Operations Fund; and N37 billion additional provision for debts accruing from the electricity bills of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

    The minister further disclosed that N517.5 billion was proposed as additional Multi-lateral/Bi-lateral Project-tied Loans; N54 billion for the National Agency for Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), which represents 1% FGN Share of Federation Account; and N305.99 billion for TETFUND (funded by the Education Tax).

    Ahmed said the fiscal numbers were preliminary and would be updated “as the reconciliation process is concluded.
    She disclosed further that N2.88 trillion went into debt servicing between January and August this year, out of a total expenditure of N8.14 trillion recorded in the first seven months out of 2021.

    The sum of N2.75 trillion was for overhead cost, while N1.75 trillion was expended on capital projects.
    According to her report, government generated N3.9 trillion so far this year, comprising Company Income Tax (CIT) of N547.5 billion; Value Added Tax collections of N235.7 billion, Customs collections of N338.6 billion and other revenues which amounted to N1.7 trillion.

    She disclosed that with a debt servicing cost of N2.88 trillion and total revenue of N3.9 trillion, the federal government spent about 73 per cent of its revenue on debt servicing within the past eight months.

    She said, “For the 2021 performance, between January and August, revenue generated was N3.93 trillion which was 73 per cent of the prorated target. Out of this amount, CIT and VAT collections were N547.5 billion and N235.7 billion respectively, representing 121 per cent in the case of CIT and 148 per cent in the case of VAT of the prorated target.

    “On the expenditure side, N8.14 trillion representing 84 per cent of the N9.71 trillion prorated expenditure from January to August had been spent.

    “This performance includes expenditure estimates of Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs), but doesn’t include project tied loans
    “Of the expenditure, N2.89 trillion was utilised for debt servicing, while N2.57 trillion was utilised for personnel cost, including pension and gratuities. As at the end of August 2021, N1.75 trillion had been expended on capital projects, of this amount, N1.723 trillion represents 81 per cent of the aggregate provision for Ministries Department Agencies’ capital prorated, while N36.01 billion is expenditure from GOEs.

    “So the story here is that the revenue performance aggregate is 73 per cent but the fact is that the non-oil revenue is performing very well above the target, while the oil and gas revenue are lagging.”

    The finance minister also revealed that the federal government borrowed a total of N3.65 trillion between January and August to finance its N4.3 trillion fiscal deficit, stressing that the balance was covered by privatisation proceeds and drawdown of bilateral and multilateral-tied loans.

    On the proposed N16.39 trillion 2022 aggregate budget proposal, with N10.132 trillion revenue projection and N6.26 trillion fiscal deficit, the minister said N3.60 trillion was for debt service, N6.829 trillion for non-debt recurrent expenditure, and N4.892 trillion for capital expenditure.

    Ahmed said: “To promote fiscal transparency, accountability and comprehensiveness, allocations to TETFUND and the budgets of 63 GOEs are integrated in the FGN’s 2022 Budget proposal.

    “In aggregate, 34.9% of projected revenue is to come from oil-related sources while 65.1% is to be earned from non-oil sources.”
    According to her, N3.331 is projected for oil-related revenue, N1.816 trillion, independent revenue, N924.31 billion from other revenue sources, and N1.728 trillion retained GOE revenue.

    The minister also disclosed that N23 billion “is proposed for Sinking Funds, N768 billion for Statutory Transfer.”
    On the sectors with the highest allocation in 2022, the sum of N2.41 trillion was proposed for Defence, comprising the military, police, intelligence and paramilitary agencies.

    Infrastructure (including Works and Housing, Power, among others) comes next with N1.45 trillion, followed by Youth, Women and Social Development with N921 billion.
    A sum of N873.93 billion is proposed for the education sector with another N108 billion for the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

  • Insecurity: Reps Ask FG To Suspend 2021 Census

    Insecurity: Reps Ask FG To Suspend 2021 Census

    The House of Representatives on Tuesday called on the Federal Government to suspend the planned 2021 census until the insecurity situation in the country is addressed.

    The House presided over by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila advised the Federal Government to suspend the exercise till such a time the country was safe enough for it.

    This was disclosed in a series of tweets on the official handle of the House of Representatives.

    The resolution of the House was passed following a motion moved by a member representing Bosso/Paikoro Federal Constituency of Niger State, Shehu Beji.

    The lawmaker while leading the debate on the motion told the House that several factors would work against the accuracy of the figures that would be obtained and the overall success of the exercise due largely to insecurity.

    “Beji said, the safety of enumerators would not be guaranteed in many parts of the country.

    “He also stated that many households would be unwilling to make family members available for enumeration because of the fear of the unknown.

    “He added that it would be unwise in the prevailing circumstances to post enumerators to some parts of the country currently considered to be volatile.

    “Beji argued that the fact that many locations would not be reached by enumerators was enough a reason to suspend the planned exercise,” the tweets read in part.

    The key prayer of his motion, therefore, urged the House to “call on the Federal Government to suspend the exercise until the security of the country stabilises.”

    The prayer was endorsed by the House in a majority voice vote.

    The House also invited the Chairman of the NPC, Nasir Isa Kwarra, to explain the feasibility of conducting a population and housing census in the country amid the current security challenges.