President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the postponement of the 2023 Population and Housing Census, earlier scheduled for May 3 to 7 2023, to a date to be determined by the incoming administration.

Buhari gave the approval after meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC) and his team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday, April 28.

According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, the President reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a Population and Housing Census, 17 years after the last census, to collect up-to-date data that will drive the developmental goals of the country and improve the living standard of Nigerians.

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President Buhari noted that with the completion of the Enumeration Area Demarcation  of the country, conduct of first and second pretests, the recruitment and training of adhoc workers, procurement of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and ICT infrastructures, appreciable progress has been made in the implementation of the 2023 census.

He also commended the methodology being put in place by the NPC to conduct accurate and reliable census, especially the massive deployment of technology that is capable of delivering world class census and laying a sustainable basis for future censuses

Buhari further directed NPC to continue with preparations for the conduct of the 2023 census in order to sustain the gains already recorded and provide the basis for the incoming administration to consolidate these achievements.

Others at the meeting alongside Lai Mohammed were the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba; and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

The Star