The Buhari administration shelves Census 2023 scheduled for next week, pushing its implementation to an incoming government.
National Population Commission (NPC) scheduled the 2023 Population and Housing Census to begin on Wednesday 3 May. It was to last for three days.
Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, announced the postponement in a statement last night.
Mohammed said government took the decision to allow the incoming administration conduct the exercise.
NPC Chairman, Alhaji Issa Kwarra, met with the president and cabinet ministers on Friday at Aso Villa to consider the proposal to postpone.
Nigeria has delayed the conduct of a census, usually a decennial exercise, for the past 17 years.
NPC concluded the spadework for the Census prior to this time.
Enugu Metro sources confirm that last-minute purchase of key equipment, such as handheld devices and the shortage of funds, were key issues that caused a postponement.
President-elect Bola tinubu, whose declaration is a subject of litigation, has yet to make a statement on the census.
The postponement comes as a blow millions of ad-hoc Staff shortlisted for the exercise.
Billions of Naira have gone into these preparatory exercises before the abrupt cancellation. The entire budget submitted by NPC for Census 2023 is in excess of N800 billion.
Buhari shelves Census 2023
Author
