Nasir Kwarra, the chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), said a Senate committee on Wednesday that N532.7 billion will be required to perform the 2023 National Housing and Population Census in April 2023.
At the 2023 budget defence hearing in Abuja before the Senate Committee on National Identity Cards and National Population Commission (NPC), Mr. Kwarra made this statement.
“Based on the budget for the census, what we need to be able to complete the conduct of the census as well as the post-enumeration survey and all other post-census activities is a total of N532.7 billion.
”Aside from the N10 billion budget for 2023, the NPC earmarked the sum of N532.7 billion for the conduct of the 2023 census.
”NPC is ready to re-write the history of the census in Nigeria by making the 2023 one not only accurate, credible and reliable but acceptable to all Nigerians,” he said.
Mr Kwarra said that the budget also covered the post-enumeration survey for the census, saying that it would be a great departure from the past in terms of keying into the issue of climate change.
He said that N206.85 billion was the approved budget of the commission in 2022, out of which N107.7 billion was for capital expenditure, N615 million for overhead and N7.8 billion for personnel cost.
Senator Sahabi Ya’u, the Chairman of the Committee urged the NPC boss to furnish the committee with details of projects executed with the 2022 budget in contrast with the 2023 budget.
(NAN)