Chukwu David 
The Senate, yesterday, vehemently decried the lack of population head-count in the country for the past 19 years, saying that it was turning Nigeria to a laughing stock in the comity of nations.
Accordingly, the apex legislative assembly declared that National census must hold in Nigeria this year. Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa Kwarra, hinted that biometric model of head-count was being worked on. The Senate expressed its displeasure about the situation during budget defence session of the NPC chairman with the Senate Committee on National Identity and Population. Members of the Committee chaired by Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), lamented the lack of headcount in the country for the past 19 years. Senator Diket Plang (APC, Plateau Central) who was the first to react, said that he felt bad as a Nigerian and leader about the country not having credible data on population of its citizenry. “I feel very bad that we are still living on estimated population figures.
Feel bad that we are still postulating and relying on data supplied by foreign bodies, which is more or less, demeaning us among comity of nations.
“We want to know our population. Nigeria should be counted this year,” he said.
Making similar lamentation, the Deputy Minority leader of the Senate who doubles as Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Olalere Oyewumi (PDP, Osun West), said NPC should put in everything in place for the population head-count to hold this year.
According to him, in preventing what happened in 2022 during President Muhammadu Buhari from repeating itself, the population exercise must be held this year because 2026 will be too close to 2027 general election.
“2025 budget of NPC should revolve around population census, which must be done this year because the demographic characteristics of the population figures being bandied about the country are not known.
“NPC should get its act together for the President to make proclamation on the population census which in itself will facilitate provisions for the desired money,” he said.
Emphasising importance of the exercise, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Abdul Ningi in his remarks, said the Committee would through the President of the Senate, write President Bola Tinibu on the need for the exercise this year.
However, in his response, the NPC chairman, said that the President was not against population head-count but wanted it done biometrically.
“President Bola Tinubu is obviously on the same page with members of this committee on the need for population head-count, but the assignment he has given us is that, all machineries and facilities should be put in place for the very important exercise to be done biometrically in a way that at the end of the day, nobody will say fishes were counted in the riverine areas and cows counted in the North.”
Earlier in his budget presentation, the NPC boss said in 2024, total budgetary provision for the commission was N12.7 billion out of which N1.17 billion was earmarked for capital vote, N818.9 million for overhead and N10.8 billion for personnel cost.
For the 2025 fiscal year, the NPC chairman said N18.2 billion was proposed, out of which N1.17 billion earmarked for overhead and N17.7billion.for capital votes. The Committee accordingly approved the budgetary proposal.
