The National Population Commission has stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to postpone the governorship and state assembly elections is likely to have an impact on the commencement of the 2023 national housing and population census, which was previously scheduled for March 29.
The NPC Chairman, Nasir Kwarra, made this known while speaking at a meeting with the Resident Representative of the United Nations Population Fund, Ms. Ulla Mueller, in Abuja.
The gubernatorial and state assembly elections, which had originally been scheduled for March 11, have been moved up a week to March 18, according to an INEC announcement made late on Wednesday.
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 emphasized the importance of the exercise for achieving the sustainable development goal, though, and said that conducting a post-enumeration survey would also lend credibility to the census.
The UNFPA provided sixteen high-capacity computers to be used in the post-enumeration survey as a sign of support.