Tony Elumelu, the Chairman, Heirs Holdings Group, has called for credible census data, saying reliable demographic data remained critical for the development of the Nigerian economy, particularly in both the public and private sectors.
Elumelu said the 2023 census tentatively scheduled to hold this month, must meet the “public’s acceptability criteria”.
Speaking at the Nigerian Government’s high-level donor engagement on the country’s 2023 housing and population census, the billionaire said, “For me, this task is critical to our country’s future – if we do not know our population, we cannot properly plot our developmental path, our economic growth, our society’s goals.”
According to him, the National Population Commission (NPC) must endeavour to conduct a credible, acceptable, and non-controversial headcount and learn from the weaknesses observed during the recent presidential election.
The Heirs Holdings Group boss, who expressed the readiness of the private sector and African development organisations to support the census said the exercise would affect how resources are allocated in the country as well as several other decisions.
“Today, Nigerian population estimates and demographic profile are unclear and projections debatable. Census figures and population distribution have unfortunately become politicised.
“Population figures have ramifications for revenue allocation, office allotment, legislative power and even elections. The stakes are, therefore, high for various interest groups – we need to act for our nation as a whole and the next generations.”
Pledging private sector support, he said, “We the Nigerian philanthropic organisations and private sector are ready to support and complement the efforts of the Nigerian government in this most important exercise.
“We believe that by working together, we can achieve our shared goal of obtaining high-quality data that will inform evidence-based decision-making and positively impact our nation’s development.
“Nigeria is our home, and it’s our duty to continually contribute to the sustainable development of the country not just for ourselves but also for the future generations yet to come.”
He said, “Our country just concluded a huge logistical exercise in the form of the national elections.
“We are about to embark on an even larger exercise, the census. We must, therefore, be quick learners and ensure that the lessons learned from the elections are channelled into the data collection process.”
