Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, has kicked against the census proposed to hold before the 2019 elections.
According to THIS DAY, Ozekhome said “When Dogara is afraid of census before 2019 elections, I sympathise with him. He knows that census is an explosive matter in this country.
“The former chairman of Commission NPC said previous censuses were false, and he was sacked because certain parts of this country did not like what he said. I agree with the Speaker that the census should not be held. The 2019 elections are almost here. Let the census be held after the 2019 elections.
“If it’s held, it will be manipulated by politicians. The same politicians can even use the census exercise to disrupt the conduct of the 2019 general election.”
“All the censuses we have ever had in this country have always been manipulated. They have never reflected the true population of Nigeria.
“This is the only country in this world where the population in the dry region is higher than those in the wetlands.”
“This is because of our attachments to national resources. Look at this. The old Kano was divided into Kano and Jigawa States. As I speak, Kano State has 44 local government areas, while Jigawa has 27. National resources sharing is based on this.
“Let us look at Bayelsa State. It lays the golden egg, but it has only eight local government areas. If Bayelsa State lays the eggs, where is the justice in this country when those who do not lay the eggs get the lion’s share?” he asked.