At its plenary on Tuesday 18th October 2016, the Senate called on President Muhammadu Buhari to issue a proclamation for the conduct of a population and housing census in 2018. Sen. Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi (APC:Kaduna) moving a motion titled ‘‘A call for the Federal Government to Expedite action on the planned 2018 National Census’’, noted the importance of census in the life of any nation in its socio-economic and development planning and stated that section 24 of the third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) empowers the National Population Commission to undertake the production of demographic, socio-economic and health data through the conduct of census surveys, vital statistics, (registration of births, deaths, migrations etc).
He stated that the last population census conducted was in 2006, and in keeping with the United Nations Organizations (UNO) recommendation that census be conducted every ten (10) years, another census should have been held in 2016. He expressed concerns that inadequate funds for the preparation towards the 2016 population census appropriated by the National Assembly in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 appropriations accounted for the failure to conduct the exercise in 2016. He further stated that International donor agencies could offer financial assistance to conduct census only when there is a presidential proclamation, a prerequisite commitment for the take-off of a census exercise.
Sen. Hunkuyi also mentioned that the complex nature of conducting modern population census required sophisticated arrangements involving a range of scientifically tested and technically efficient methods as well as a robust planning which take several years to put together.
The Senate also called on the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the National Population Commission, Ministry for Budget and National Planning, and other supervising agencies to make adequate provision in the 2017 budget as a critical prerequisite to achieving 2017/2018 population census.
