Speaker Abbas backs Tinubu on use of biometric for accurate headcount

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has thrown his weight behind the use of biometrics to determine the actual population of the country.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, when the board and management of the NPC paid a courtesy call on him, he maintained that the biometric system is the only way to determine the actual population with less deployment of resources.

Decrying the delay in the conduct of the headcount, he expressed his readiness to meet with President Tinubu after liaising with the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, on the matter.

On the NPC entourage were the Chairman, Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra, and the Director-General, Dr. Ojogun Tellson Osifo.

Speaker Abbas, while responding to the NPC chairman, who disclosed that the President had approved a biometric-based census in 2025, stated: “It is unacceptable for a country as big as Nigeria to stay for 19 years without conducting a population census.”

He said a census exercise would stop the doubts of critics who feel the country’s population is exaggerated.

While pointing out that the budget of the NPC was inadequate to conduct a successful census, the Speaker said the Federal Government might consider other sources of funds, including the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).

Earlier, the Chairman of the NPC briefed the Speaker on the plans for the census and the preparations made so far. Hon. Kwarra sought the support of the House and the National Assembly, by extension, especially regarding funding and enabling laws.

He said part of the plans for the census included the acquisition of technology, recruitment and training of officials, the establishment of a situation room, as well as advocacy/stakeholder engagements, including visits to former Presidents and ex-Heads of State.