Northern Elders Forum ( NEF), on Saturday requested that the planned population census (later this year) should be shelved.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that NEF spoke in Kaduna during the meeting of Northern Leaders of Thought at the Arewa House.
In a keynote address titled “Rebuilding the North”, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, NEF’s Director of Publicity and Advocacy, warned the the proposed population census will be marred by controversy.
“Our (Nigerian) leaders should avoid the temptations to roll out policies that will raise levels of desperation among the poor. Activities such as the planned population census which have enough sensitivity and potential to generate massive controversy a few months before the elections should be postponed,” Baba-Ahmed said.
It would be recalled that the Chairman, National Population Commission, Nasir Kwarra, said on Monday that a total of 772 local government areas across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja have been ‘demarcated’ for the conduct of the planned census in 2022.
According to him, the first-ever digital population census is also realistic in May 2022.
He added that President Muhammadu Buhari will be willing to make a proclamation for the census.
The last population census in Nigeria was conducted in 2006.
