Senate asks Buhari to issue proclamation on 2018 census

• Applauds release of Chibok girls
• Tasks DISCOs, others on equipment testing by NEMSA

The Senate, yesterday, passed a resolution urging President Muhammadu Buhari to issue a proclamation for holding of a census in 2018.

It also called on the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the National Population Commission (NPC), Ministry of Budget and National Planning, and supervising agencies, to make provision in the 2017 budget, as a prerequisite to achieving the objective.

The upper legislative chamber also tasked the National Population Commission to ensure it conducted a dispute-free count.

Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the session, said every Nigerian had to be counted, pointing out that information technology must be deployed in order to produce acceptable results.

“I want to thank the sponsor of the motion. As we approach the next census, we must take advantage of the development in technology and make the results of the exercise acceptable. All the previous exercises have been disputed. We want this exercise to count. Every Nigerian must be counted and no one should be counted twice. If we do this, we will be able to plan,” he said.

The Senate also commended the Federal Government and stakeholders on the release of 21 Chibok girls, last week