The postponement of the 2023 census has been justified by the National Population Commission (NPC).
The census has been delayed, and the NPC will announce the new date, according to Lai Mohammed, minister of Communications and Culture, who disclosed on Saturday.
The census was postponed a few weeks after the commission told Nigerians it was prepared to perform the process.
REASONS FOR THE POSTPONED CENSUS
According to NPC spokesman Isiaka Yahaya, the exercise was postponed for the next government to take part fully, she said in an interview with TVC on Sunday.
In order to dispel rumours that the census was delayed due to insufficient money, he stressed that the commission was completely prepared.
“When we say delay, it seems like we’re starting anew, but to us at the commission, the process has already been going on for a while. There have already been so many phases, and the procedure still needs to be finished. We sort of think of it as postponing,” Yahaya added. “Some of these suggested explanations are untrue. First, the National Population Commission was not unprepared when the census was delayed; it was. In fact, we have made all the required preparations and are ready to carry out the exercise. Therefore, that is not the cause.
“Once more, it has been implied that…the reason is financial.
That is untrue as well. The federal government of Nigeria, which is primarily responsible for providing money for the census, has thus far given all the materials required for the census and the necessary phases, including training and actual enumeration. Funds are always made available when required, so we have no reason to think that they won’t be.
Yahaya continued by saying the nation’s attitude following the recently held elections was why the census was delayed.
He said that the election’s delay undermined the NPC’s objectives because the census would be most effective in a stable atmosphere.
“First, conducting a census is not like navigating a maze. It serves as a tool, not as an end in and of itself. You are aware that a census is taken to be used for planning purposes; thus, in a manner, this activity needs to be seamless in that the administration that takes the census ought to also be the administration that uses it.
“After considering the situation, we think what was done was the appropriate thing. In order to perfect the process, it is crucial that the next government understand how the census will be carried out. If this is done, the administration will find it simpler to use the census for planning. Therefore, I think that is one reason for the census’s rescheduling.
“Yet another explanation is related to the national mood.
When we decided to perform the census after the election, we thought we would have a sufficient window between when the election would be over and when the census would be conducted. Unfortunately, the election’s rescheduled date did not allow for the mood’s complete evaporation.
