Few months into 2016 when it will be ten
years after the last census was conducted in
Nigeria, there are strong indications that the
2016 census may not hold, Loaded24
investigation has shown.
With less than four months to the census
year, the National Population Commission
(NPC) is yet to receive a presidential
proclamation, a legal requirement from
president which will direct it to go ahead with
preparations for the census.
Investigation by Loaded24 shows that no
form for preparation for the census is
ongoing – no workshops, sensitization or
planning. Checks revealed that no budgetary
allocation had been made, thereby putting the
possibility of the census in doubt.
Sources have also expressed concerns over
the huge cost of the exercise, saying
President Muhammadu Buhari is not
comfortable with the amount being
demanded by the NPC.
Eze Duru-Iheoma
In 2014, NPC boss, Eze Duru-Iheoma
revealed a budgeted cost of N100billion for
2016 census. The cost would cover a period
of three years – the pre-census, census
proper and post census activities.
But recently, during a meeting between the
president and management of NPC, Duru-
Iheoma told the president that the
commission needed N273billion for the 2016
census.
However, sources within the commission
said no budgetary allocation has been made
for the exercise.
Last May, the NPC boss had revealed: “It is
the 5th month in the year and we have not
even seen a dime.”
Checks revealed that the N20billion in the
2015 budget for preparatory activities leading
to the conduct of the 2016 Population and
Housing Census was pruned to N4 billion.
“Everything we ought to do in-house, we are
doing, but that is as far as we can go. We
have developed the necessary questionnaire,
we have test-run some of the technologies
we are going to deploy but there are things
outside our control; there must be
commitment of resources,” a source within
the commission said.
The source asserted that although there
ought to be a general census in 2016 since
the last one was conducted in 2006;
however, preparations for the exercise had
not started since there was no presidential
proclamation on the matter.
Speaking during one of his visits to the
former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, the
NPC boss said, “The last census was in
2006. So in 2016, there ought to be another
exercise. We have come to tell Mr President
about that because we cannot commence
until he says go ahead and the go-ahead is
by way of proclamation.”
The chairman has maintained that periodicity
is one of the basic attribute of a good
census, stressing that censuses are
conducted over a period of five or 10 years
and that the periodicity makes the data
comparable over a period of time.
“Conducting census at regular intervals
makes it possible for the government and
planners to have a larger picture of
development process and plan accordingly.
Comparability of census data are better done
when the census are conducted at regular
intervals of either five or ten years rather
than at regular period of government
convenience,” he explained.
Duru-Iheoma revealed that upon the
inauguration of the present commission,
former President Jonathan had directed it to
achieve 100 per cent vital registration project
by 2015, adding that in pursuit of the
directive, the commission had embarked
upon an accelerated registration of births and
deaths in every part of the country through
the support of a wide range of stakeholders
and development partners.
“More registration centres have been
planned while more registrars are being
recruited in order to ensure that all births and
deaths are registered,” he noted.
The current security situation in the country,
many believe, is one of the reasons why the
census may not hold. Census have always
been a controversial issue in Nigeria.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the last population
census conducted in 2006 was trailed by a
lot of controversies. A lot of people accused
the commission of favouring a particular
region over others.
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