Senate Committee on Appropriation witnessed a mild drama when the Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi, warned the Federal Government against conducting the 2022 national census.
Point News247 reports that the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Nasir Isa Kwarra, had proposed the sum of N400bn to conduct the exercise which he said would start in May next year.
He said, “Every Nigerian is worried about insecurity but it should not stop us from conducting census because we need to produce accurate data for policymakers to make policies that would enable the country to address many challenges including insecurity.
“Holidays would be declared when we want to conduct census. The security agents would take care of anyone found on the streets of Nigeria.”
Kwarra told the committee that the total estimate cost for the National Census slated for next year is N400bn .
However, Adeyemi representing Kogi West Senatorial District argued that spending a whopping N400bn on census when there was unemployment and hunger in the land, did not make any economic sense.
He said, “I’m looking at this issue from a practical point of view. The only area that is a bit safe in Nigeria today is the South-West geopolitical zone. There is an assumption of tight security for people to move around there.
“All other zones in Nigeria today are unsafe. There are killings every day, especially in the northern region.
“Over three – quarter of those who have died in Nigeria are northerners. In Kogi State on Wednesday, gunmen took over a town for four hours and killed people.
“Census is important but it is definitely not expedient. Our people are dying daily. We must guarantee security, movement of goods and services or else we are deceiving ourselves.
“The NPC has determined to do the job, there is no doubt about your competence. However, between you and your God, you know Nigeria is not safe to conduct census today.
“You cannot go from Sokoto to Ilela, that is the truth. Nobody can move round again. Census is important but we need to be alive to conduct it.”