The National Population Commission (NPC) has appealed to the political class and other stakeholders to desist from politicising the outcome of the forthcoming Population census, urging them to see the exercise as a developmental tool for the country.

The NPC has announced that the population census will commence on May 3rd and end on May 7th, 2023 across the country.

The National Population Commission in a statement by its Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Isiaka Yahaya on Saturday to commemorate the Eid-el Fitr celebration noted that the preparation for the headcount has reached the final stage and encouraged every civil society organisation and religion groups to be involved in the process.

Dr Yahaya also stated that the commission is keen on delivering a credible and acceptable census to Nigerians, insisting that there is no going back on the promises made to the country to conduct the first digital exercise as stipulated by the United Nations Principles and Recommendations in 2020 for all countries.

According to him, the methodology around the digital census will make manipulation of the outcome of the population census different, thereby ensuring transparency which makes every part of the country accurately enumerated.

The statement partly reads “The Commission also urges Muslim leaders to use the occasion of this celebration to sensitize and mobilize the masses to get involved and support the conduct of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

“The Commission is in the final stage of preparations to deliver to the country its first fully digital Population and Housing Census that will be credible and acceptable to all. Nigeria’s 2023 Census will be fully digital and will be conducted in accordance with the United Nations Principles and Recommendations for the 2020 Programme on Population and Housing Censuses. The census methodology makes manipulation of census figures difficult while ensuring that everyone resident in the country at the time of the enumeration is counted.

We also want to seize this opportunity to call on the political class to have attitudinal change and not politicize the 2023 Population and Housing Census, but rather to see census data for its fundamental purpose as a tool for development planning.