The Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Identity and National Population, Senator Abdul Ningi, has lamented the absence of accurate population data to plan Nigeria.
He also noted that successive administrations have relied on inconsistent numbers, making it difficult to arrive at a strategic plan for the future.
Addressing a delegation from the National Population Commission (NPC) led by the Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra, Senator Ningi said the estimated population of the country ranges from 200 million to 250 million. The senator also said the population census exercise was necessary to prepare for tomorrow.
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Addressing the immigration aspect of population management, a member of the committee, and the Senator representing Jigawa Northwest, Babangida Hussaini (APC), said measures need to be put in place for the proper policing of the country’s 927,000 square kilometres of land to check illegal immigrants.
On her part, Saidat Olayinka Oladunjiye, President Bola Tinubu’s nominee as NPC Commissioner for Lagos State, assured the committee of a rich guideline to drive the NPC towards a successful enumeration exercise.
She explained that the commission would deploy the Geographic Information System (GIS), promising that this next population census will be one of the best in the country because of the importance of data to national planning.
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