According to the National Population Commission (NPC), the planning for the population and housing census in 2023 cost over N200 billion.
This was revealed at a breakfast meeting on Thursday by Nasir Kwarra, the executive chairman of the NPC.
The head of NPC added that the money spent was a portion of the N800 billion in total funding for the population census that was anticipated from the Federal Government.
According to Kwarra, the funds covered the price of the exercise’s more than five-year preparation.
He claimed that conducting a digital census would be expensive since the commission would have to buy the necessary tools and information.
Speaking on the preparation further, Kwarra said about one million personnel had been employed to conduct a credible and acceptable digital census.
Kwarra said, “It is important to sustain the tempo of the preparation for the census. The focus of the commission is to lay a foundation for future censuses,”
The NPC is dedicated to guaranteeing a genuine census, he continued, assuring Nigerians.
Census Manager Inuwa Jalingo, who spoke at the occasion as well, stated that the commission put a lot of effort into conducting a digital census.
Jalingo continued by saying that the commission was ready to guarantee a reliable dashboard and statistics for the exercise.
President Muhammadu Buhari authorized the postponement of the census in April. Originally scheduled to occur nationwide between May 3 and May 5, the census has been delayed.
The new date for the census would be decided by the incoming administration, according to Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, who made the announcement of the delay in a statement.
