The House of Representatives is to investigate the money expended on the postponed 2023 population and housing census by the National Population Commission (NPC).
The house made this resolution on Wednesday following a motion from Honourable Dominic Okafor drawing attention of the lawmakers to the 200 billion naira spent so far on the census.
The lawmakers, however, disagreed on conducting the census this year due to insecurity.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the postponement of the 2023 Population and Housing Census earlier scheduled for May 3 to 7 to a date to be determined by the incoming administration.
In a statement by the then Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Buhari gave the approval after meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council; the then Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa-Kwarra; and his team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
“In arriving at the decision to postpone the Census, the meeting reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a Population and Housing Census, 17 years after the last Census, to collect up-to-date data that will drive the developmental goals of the country and improve the living standard of the Nigerian people,” the statement said.
“The President noted that with the completion of the Enumeration Area Demarcation of the country, conduct of first and second pretests, the recruitment and training of adhoc workers, procurement of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and ICT infrastructures, appreciable progress has been made in the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.”
Alex Ogbonnaya
