Senate President Godswill Akpabio has called for the urgent conduct of a national population census, warning that Nigeria’s continued reliance on outdated or conflicting population figures hampers effective governance and development.
Speaking in his office during a visit by the leadership of the National Population Commission on Wednesday, Akpabio described the absence of accurate data as a significant obstacle to planning and decision-making. The country’s last census was conducted in 2006.
“I do not want to call it a national disgrace, but can I say it is a national embarrassment that even Nigerians who go outside to represent us in different fora do not know the number of Nigerians,” Akpabio said.
He highlighted the wide variation in population estimates often cited at international gatherings, noting that figures range from 220 million to over 300 million.
“Sometimes you will go to some places, and they will say 250 million Nigerians. At another place, they will say you people are over 270 million. Some African countries think we are over 300 million,” he remarked.
Akpabio emphasised that the lack of reliable population data leads to confusion and undermines the country’s ability to plan effectively for education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
“Any country that fails to know its population has already started to fail in its planning. You cannot truly plan for the future if you don’t know the number of mouths you want to feed. You do not know the number of children that you want to put in schools,” he stated.
Pledging the full support of the National Assembly, Akpabio assured the NPC of legislative backing to ensure a successful and credible census.
“I have no doubt, with the calibre of men and women that I have seen here, that the task that Mr President has given to you, once the proclamation is done, you will rise to the occasion,” he said.
NPC Chairman Nasir Kwarra, who led the delegation, said the visit was intended to brief the Senate President on the commission’s readiness and to seek continued support from lawmakers.
“We cannot conduct this census without your support. We want to make Nigerians proud by conducting a very thorough census that will yield a lot of data that will assist in planning, policy formulation, and tracking our development,” Kwarra said.
