After the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, declined a request to postpone the 2023 Census, all is no set for the national head cout slated for to hold from May 3 to 5.
Justice Inyang Ekwo refused to grant the application, but asked the applicant, Omotuyi Ademola, to put the defendant, the National Population Commission, NPC, on notice.
Ekwo affirmed that the applicant’s lawyer moved a motion for an interim injunction to postpone the conduct of the 2023 census. He, however, said: “on considering the motion, I am of the opinion that the defendant should be put on notice” to appear in court and show cause why the applicant’s motion should not be granted.
In his ex parte application, the applicant stated that the NPC currently lacked effective preparation and adequate publicity towards the conduct of a credible, effective and constitutional census in the country.
The National President of the centre, Mr Alex Omotehinse noted that the nation could not afford to fail in the exercise and urged the NPC to speak out where it encounters challenges in the exercise nationwide.
“This census is long overdue and we expect the commission to do due diligence and be painstaking in getting accurate population of Nigerian people.
“We expect every Nigerian to cooperate with the national population commission by staying at places they can be counted, for us to have the actual figure of the population of the people of Nigeria.
“We must get our population right now. Our advice to the commission is to ensure they quickly speak out wherever they have difficulties.
“They must speak out to alert the government, stakeholders and the public and not to wait until after the exercise before giving one excuse or the other about challenges.
“Whenever they have difficulties anywhere all over the country, they should endeavour to speak out to Nigerians. However, we must do our best to get Nigeria’s actual population,” Omotehinse said.
Omotehinse said that all ethnic nationalities in the country must cooperate with the NPC officials to enhance the success of the exercise.
The Inter-Party Advisory Council has also urged government at all levels not to allow the 2023 Population and Housing Census be a waste of resources and time without corresponding improvement in Nigerians’ well-being.
The Lagos State IPAC Chairman, Mr Olusegun Mobolaji, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, said that the essence of the exercise.should not he defeated at the end of the exercise.
“It is a good step in the right direction. Under a normal circumstance, any nation that cares about its people and their well- being as well as development, infrastructure should conduct this at regular interval.
“We should know the average number of people and the age category so as to make provision when it comes to education, health and other basic amenities for the people.
“This data and statistics should help the government to make proper provision for all categories of citizens that we have.
“We just pray that this will not be an exercise in futility or another channel of siphoning public funds.
Credible News reports that the National Housing and Population Census, expected to hold between May 3 and May 5, 2023 is coming 17 years after the last exercise held in 2006.
The 2023 census enumeration of the Nigerian population across the nation’s 774 Local Government Areas will be the fifth national census in the country since Independence.
The 2006 census pegs Nigeria’s population at 140 million.
