By Elsie Udoh
The National Population Commission (NPC) has revealed that the 2023 National Population and Housing Census might no longer be held in March.
According to a report by Vanguard, the Chairman of the Commission, Nasir Isa-Kwarra disclosed the likely postponement in a meeting with the Resident Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Ms Ulla Mueller held in Abuja on Friday.
This suggested change is due to the postponement of the 2023 gubernatorial election which was moved to March 18 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following issues with logistics and BVAS configuration.
Isa-Kwarra mentioned that no official date had been communicated yet and that he would need to consult with President Muhammadu Buhari to fix a suitable date.
In addition to this, the UNFPA representative, Mueller pledged the support of UNFPA in ensuring the success of the exercise and presented sixteen high-capacity computers to aid the census exercise.
Meanwhile, the 2023 population census which had not been conducted since 2006 was initially scheduled to hold on March 29, 2023 and a budget of over 190 billion Naira has been allocated for the exercise.
