By Joy Odor
The National Population Commission (NPC) has on Wednesday declared that N532.7 billion will be needed by it to conduct national census in April 2023.
Chairman of the Commission, Nasir Isa Kwarra made the disclosure to members of the Senate Committee on National Population and Identity Management during 2023 budget defence session in Abuja.
The N532.7 billion according to the NPC boss, is purely proposal for conduct of the 2023 census which would be digitally done.
He informed that NPC is ready to re- write the history of census in Nigeria by making the 2023 one not only accurate, credible, reliable but acceptable to all Nigerians.
NPC Chairman said the proposed sum for conduct of 2023 census, covers post enumeration survey and that the exercise would be a great departure from the past in terms of keying into the issue of climate change.
Kwarra said envelope of N1.05 billion was earmarked for capital expenditure, N655 million for overhead and N8.6 billion for personnel in the 2023 budgetary proposal.
“Aside the N10 billion budgetary proposal for 2023 fiscal year earmarked for NPC, the sum of N532. 795, 604, 726 billion is estimated for conduct of 2023 Census.
For the 2022 fiscal year, the NPC boss said a total of N206.85 billion was appropriated for the Commission which N107.7 billion was earmarked for capital expenditure, N615 million for overhead and N7.8 billion for personnel cost.
However, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sahabi Ya’u told the NPC boss to furnish the Committee with details of projects executed with the 2022 appropriation line by line and those proposed for the 2023 fiscal year.
