The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, has rejected the National Census Committee formed by the Bola Tinubu administration.
The Presidency, through a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), announced the inauguration of a high-level committee for the forthcoming national population and housing census.
Nigeria’s last census was conducted in 2006, nearly two decades ago, recording a population of 140,431,790 — with 71,345,488 males and 69,086,302 females.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, will chair the Presidential Committee.
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Other members include the Minister of Information, Muhammed Idris; the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa Kwarra, who will also serve as the Committee Secretary; the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); the Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC); the Principal Private Secretary to the President; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Operations (Office of the Chief of Staff).
Reacting, the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, said the committee was skewed in favour of the South-West, to the detriment of other sections of the country.
Okwu noted that census is a very sensitive matter, adding that every process related to it must be seen to be fair to all regions of the country.
In a statement made available to journalists on Monday, Okwu said, “We have waited to see whether the Presidency would do the needful, but the situation remains the same nearly two weeks after that one-sided committee was inaugurated.
“Nigerians are aware of the controversies that have always trailed past census figures, and we expect that, for once, the country should get it right.
“It is, however, regrettable that the current government has started on the wrong footing by appointing a committee that is totally dominated by people from the South-West, yet it tagged it a National Committee.
“We state clearly that there is nothing national about that committee, as it completely negates the principle of federal character — just like most appointments made so far by the current government.
“This is totally unacceptable, and we urge Mr President to either disband the committee or expand it to accommodate other regions of the country,” Okwu stated.
He added that the census should not be handled like other actions of the current administration, stressing, “We are not going to accept the allocation of figures to Ndigbo.”
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