MAY 19 , 2023 | EASTERN PILOT Report By: Adekunle Sulaimon | Abuja The chairman of the National Population Commission, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, o...
MAY 19 , 2023 | EASTERN PILOT
Report By: Adekunle Sulaimon | Abuja
The chairman of the National Population Commission, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, on Thursday, hinted at how N224 billion released by the Federal Government for the 2023 housing and population census was spent. The initial money budgeted for the exercise was N800 billion but was cut short after the postponement. Isa-Kwara mentioned in Abuja during a breakfast meeting with media executives that the N224 billion has been spent on preparations for the exercise which include printing of papers, and training of adhoc staff members, among many other miscellaneous. Recall that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) postponed the census after several meetings with stakeholders in late April.
He said the incoming administration, will decide on the date the exercise will hold. Speaking at a breakfast meeting on Thursday, Nasir Kwarra, executive chairman of the commission, said the money spent was part of the N800 billion expected from the federal government as the total budget for the conduct of the population census. Kwarra said the money included the cost of more than five years of preparing for the exercise. He said the cost of conducting a digital census was high as the commission would be procuring equipment and data needed for the exercise.
He said about one million personnel have been recruited to conduct a credible and acceptable digital census. “It is important to sustain the tempo of the preparation for the census. The focus of the commission is to lay a foundation for future censuses,’’ NAN quoted Kwarra as saying. He assured the public of the commission’s commitment to ensuring a credible census. Also speaking, Inuwa Jalingo, census manager, said the commission worked hard to conduct a digital census.
Jalingo added that the commission was prepared to ensure a robust quality dashboard and data for the exercise. In April, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the postponement of the census. The exercise was billed to take place across the country between May 3 and 5. Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, who announced the postponement in a statement, said the new date for the census would be determined by the incoming administration.
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