The National Population Commission (NPC) has disclosed that internally displaced persons (IDPs) and every other person residing in Nigeria will be counted during the 2023 population census scheduled for May 3 to 7.
Isiaka Yahaya, NPC’s Director of Public Affairs, in a statement on Sunday, said questionnaire for the census had been tailored to solicit information of the diverse residents in the country
The statement was in response to the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom and the president of the Middle Belt Forum, Bitrus Pogu, who had urged the Federal Government to postpone the 2023 Population and Housing Census due to fear of exclusion of IDPs in the exercise.
But Yahaya stated that “…everyone resident in Nigeria at the time of the 2023 census exercise will be counted, including the non-Nigerians, internally displaced persons and homeless people.
“The aim is to leave no one behind in order to ensure inclusive, credible and acceptable census data.”