Tinubu dismisses N942 billion census budget, proposes use of corps members
A proposed N942 billion budget from the National Population Commission (NPC) for the next national housing and population census has been dismissed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Tinubu insisted on cost reduction and proposed utilizing National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members for the exercise.
The meeting with the president held at state the house on February 24, 2025, under the leadership of Chairman Nasir Kwarra, and according to the punch, sources privy to the information disclosed that President Tinubu promised to setup a committee to examine the budget and ensure it was in line with the government’s financial circumstance.
In a statement titled “Nigeria moves closer to fresh census, President Tinubu to set up committee,” Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, quoted Tinubu as thus “This stop-and-go activity on the census cannot work with me. So, we better have a definite path.
President Tinubu was quoted to have also said “I will set up a committee for you to look at the issues critically and do a source and application of resources. Where can we get help, and what can we lift before we embark on proclamation?”
Speaking on this, one of the sources who spoke on the condition to remain anonymous revealed that although the president wanted the census exercise to be carried out, he insisted that the cost must be cut down.
In the words of the said source, “The main issue from that meeting was that the money they were proposing was quite much. It is around N942bn. That is almost N1tn. And the President felt that it was too much. That is why he said there would be a committee to look at the issues altogether because that cost must come down.
“He wants to do it. He wants the census to happen. But the cost is too high. His goal is that they should do it for less.”
According to another insider at the meeting, President Tinubu suggested a wide deployment of NYSC members in order to save cost.
he said “He was even suggesting that they recruit youth corps members to make it cheaper,”
A third source however claimed that the members of Tinubu’s new committee and its functions was still unknown.
“We have heard nothing about that committee for now. It is still being put together as we speak. But the agencies concerned will be on it,” the source explained.
At the meeting , Tinubu stressed that an accurate census is crucial for national development saying “We must ascertain who we are, how many we are, and how to manage our data. Without an accurate census, we can’t successfully plan for employment, agriculture, and food sovereignty. “So many problems come up without accurate data,”
President Tinubu also emphasized the importance of accurate demographic data in enhancing government incentives like distribution of fertilizers to farmers and the need to incorporate biometrics capturing into the data collection process.
“We should work on our financial muscle well in place to lift our burden before we go and meet development partners for the census. We should work out the figures before discussing the role of development partners.” he said.
Recall that the last population and housing census exercise in Nigeria was conducted in 2006 and since then, all attempts to conduct another have been hindered either by funding shortages, insecurity or logistical issues
The 2023 census initially scheduled under the Buhari administration was postponed as a result of budget constraints and political transitions.
Following this, the Tinubu administration has equally encountered difficulties with the Federal Government uncertain about the timing, methodology, and how to capture data on large, mobile populations, including internally displaced persons
