The National Population Commission (NPC) says it has spent about N200 billion to prepare for the 2023 population and housing census.
The Commission’s Executive Chairman, Nasir Kwarra, said this at a breakfast meeting with media executives in Abuja on Thursday.
According to him, it is part of the N800 billion expected from the federal government as the total budget, including the cost of more than five years of preparation.
He also said the cost of conducting a digital census was high considering the procurement of equipment and data required for the exercise.
Kwarra said the commission recruited about one million personnel in a bid to conduct a credible and acceptable digital census.
He reiterated its commitment to a credible and acceptable census and urged the media to sustain the tempo of publicity.
“It is important to sustain the tempo of the preparation for the census. The focus of the commission is to lay a foundation for future censuses,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Census manager, Inuwa Jalingo, stated that the commission worked round-the-clock to conduct a digital census.
Jalingo said the NPC has already set up a robust quality dashboard and data for a credible census.
