The National Population Commission (NPC) says the 2023 population and housing census was postponed due to the government’s transition programme and the post-election mood in the country.

At a news conference in Abuja on Sunday,

Inuwa Jalingo, the 2023 census manager and director of the commission, dismissed claims that NPC’s inadequate preparedness was the reason for the postponement.

“Anyone saying we are not prepared must be saying that out of ignorance,” he said.

Mr Jalingo asserted the commission’s preparedness for the 2023 census and said that the NPC had prepared ground for the first-ever digital census in Nigeria.

He said the commission had achieved the topmost success in all ramifications regarding the preparation.

“We achieved the international standard for a digital census,” Mr Jalingo said. “About 450,000 digital gadgets were procured and distributed to all the local governments.”

Mr Jalingo said, however, that the government was a continuous process, hoping that the incoming administration would build on the successes recorded for the eventual conduct of the census.

The census manager lauded the Buhari-led administration for its support, saying the commission had successfully trained about 60,000 facilitators nationwide.

Mr Jalingo reiterated the benefits of the census, which were not unconnected with national economic planning and the provision of data for administrative planning.

He said that the commission was able to mobilise Nigerians for the census with every information required for a successful census.

The NPC had postponed the census earlier scheduled from May 3 to May 7 indefinitely.

(NAN)