Election Postponement May Delay 2023 Census — NPC

Nasir Kwarra, the Chairman of the National Population Commission, has disclosed that the 2023 national housing and population census, earlier slated for March 29, is likely to be affected by the postponement of the gubernatorial and state assembly polls by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The chairman made this known while speaking at a meeting with the Resident Representative of the United Nations Population Fund, Ms Ulla Mueller, in Abuja.

INEC announced late Wednesday that the governorship and state assembly elections earlier scheduled to hold on March 11 had been postponed by one week, to March 18.

As a result, the NPC chairman said he would consult with President Muhammadu Buahri on a suitable date for the national census to begin as no date specific date had been assigned for it.

On her part, the Resident Representative pledged the support of the UNFPA in ensuring the success of the exercise.

She, however, explained that the conduct of a post-enumeration survey would also give credibility to the census and reiterated the significance of the exercise to the attainment of the sustainable development goal

To show support of the post-enumeration survey, the UNFPA presented sixteen high-capacity computers for the conduct of the survey.