The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has frowned at the country’s inconsistent population figures, which have fueled confusion and hindered effective national planning.
Akpabio, while speaking in his office during a courtesy visit by the management team of the National Population Commission on Wednesday, stressed that Nigeria could no longer afford to rely on outdated or conflicting population estimates, with the last official census held in 2006.
According to him, it is a national embarrassment that Nigerians at different fora give conflicting numbers on the country’s population.
Akpabio called for the immediate conduct of a national population census, describing the exercise as critical to Nigeria’s long-overdue future development.
The Senate President also stressed that accurate population data was vital for government decision-making, adding that the National Assembly will support the forthcoming census.
He said, “I do not want to call it a national disgrace, but can I say it is a national embarrassment that even Nigerians who go outside to represent us in different fora do not know the number of Nigerians.
“Sometimes you will go to some places, and they will say 250 million Nigerians. At another place, they will say you people are over 270 million. Some African countries think we are over 300 million.
“If you go to places where they are holding retreats now, they are now shrinking the number from 250 million to 220 million. I think it’s time to bring that confusion to an end.
“Any country that fails to know its population has already started to fail in its planning. You cannot truly plan for the future if you don’t know the number of mouths you want to feed. You do not know the number of children that you want to put in schools.
“The National Assembly will support you to succeed. I have no doubt, with the calibre of men and women that I have seen here, that the task that Mr President has given to you, once the proclamation is done, you will rise to the occasion.
“And I know that the National Assembly, the Senate in particular, will stand by you all the way.”
