Census may be postponed again over funding, logistics

There are indications that the 2023 national population and housing census may yet again suffer postponement due to funding and other logistic challenges, ValidView Network has learnt.

With twelve days to the start of the exercise, uncertainties continued to trail the planned headcount as the National Population Commission struggled to raise the required funds and put in place the necessary logistics.

The training of ad-hoc worker at the local government level was postponed last week. It was gathered on Friday that no new date had been fixed for the training.

The census was to be conducted last year, but was rescheduled for March 2023.

However following the shift in the date for the governorship and state house of assembly elections in March, the census was moved to May 3.

In March, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, disclosed that the Federal Government planned to establish a basket fund to collect donations for the 2023 population and housing census.

He made this disclosure at a high-level partners’ engagement to seek support for the census in Abuja.

Agba had noted that a total of N869bn was needed for the census, adding that the government committed N291.5bn to it with the need for an additional N327.2bn.

The minister had stated, “The total requirement for the census (including post-census activities) is N869bn ($1.88bn): census requirement – N626bn ($1.36bn), which is about $6 per capita (just slightly above the threshold of up to $5 per capita); post-census (up to 2025) is N243bn ($527m).

“So far, the government has committed N291.5bn ($632m) to the census, making it 46 per cent of the total funding for the census. An additional (immediate) sum of N327.2bn ($709.9m) is required to complete the census.”

Earlier in April, the Kwara state Director of NPC, Alhaji Sa’eed Yusuf, had announced April 17 for the start of building numbering and household listing.

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Last week Tuesday, about 467 ad hoc staff members of the NPC in Bauchi State took to the streets to protest their alleged unpaid allowances.

The spokesman for the ad hoc workers, Abbas Adamu, while addressing the state director of the NPC, said, “We have done our job but yet to receive our due allowances.

“On behalf of the ad hoc NPC 2023 census staff, who participated as special workforce and facilitators for the upcoming 2023 census exercise, we are here to inform the commission that we, in the attached list, have not received our allowances for training conducted at the Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, from January 23 to February 5 for special workforce and facilitators, respectively.”

Responding, the state Director, NPC, Hudu Baballe, said, “I have listened to all your grievances and complaints, and they are all noted. I have got the letter, which will be forwarded to the commissioner and the national headquarters in Abuja.”