Senate President Godswill Akpabio has called for the urgent conduct of a national population census, emphasizing its critical role in Nigeria’s development planning. Speaking during a courtesy visit by the National Population Commission (NPC) management team to his office on Wednesday, Akpabio described the exercise as long overdue, noting that the last official census was conducted in 2006.
Akpabio highlighted the confusion caused by inconsistent population estimates, which he termed a “national embarrassment.” “Sometimes you will go to some places, and they will say 250 million Nigerians. At another place, they will say you people are over 270 million. Some African countries think we are over 300 million,” he said. He added that recent estimates have even shrunk to 220 million, underscoring the need to end the uncertainty.
The Senate President stressed that accurate population data is essential for effective governance and planning. “Any country that fails to know its population has already started to fail in its planning. You cannot truly plan for the future if you don’t know the number of mouths you want to feed or the number of children you want to put in schools,” Akpabio stated.
Pledging the National Assembly’s support, Akpabio expressed confidence in the NPC’s ability to deliver a credible census once President Bola Tinubu issues the necessary proclamation. “The National Assembly will support you to succeed. The Senate, in particular, will stand by you all the way,” he assured.
NPC Chairman Nasir Kwarra, leading the delegation, briefed Akpabio on the commission’s preparations and sought continued legislative backing. “We cannot conduct this census without your support. We want to make Nigerians proud by conducting a very thorough census that will yield data to assist in planning, policy formulation, and tracking our development,” Kwarra said.
The call for a new census comes amid growing concerns over Nigeria’s reliance on outdated population figures, which have hindered effective policy-making and resource allocation. The NPC is expected to intensify preparations pending the presidential proclamation for the exercise.
