The Nigerian Presidency has come out in defence of the eight-member committee recently inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu to produce a strategy report for the forthcoming national population and housing census.
Presidential aide Dada Olusegun, in a Thursday post on his verified X handle, @DOlusegun, described negative reactions to the committee’s composition as “laughable and ill-informed.”
He stated that each member was picked based on the strategic importance of their current roles in the census planning process.
“The outcry by some sections of the media on the committee formed by President Tinubu to create a report on the proposed National Census is entirely laughable and ill-informed,” Olusegun wrote.
He emphasized that, aside from the Principal Secretary representing the president, all others hold key administrative and policy-making positions that directly affect census planning.
“It will be abominable to form any such committee without them,” he added.
The committee is chaired by Budget and National Planning Minister, Senator Atiku Bagudu. Other members are: Mallam Nasir Isa Kwarra (NPC Chairman and Secretary of the committee), Muhammad Idris (Minister of Information), Engr Abisoye Odusote (NIMC DG), Wale Edun (Finance Minister), Zacch Adedeji (FIRS Chairman), Hakim Muri-Okunola (Principal Secretary to the President), and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Operations (Office of the Chief of Staff).
Olusegun challenged the critics, asking, “Who among these people, whose current offices are crucial to the success of any National Census to be conducted, should be removed?”
He also downplayed complaints about the committee’s inclusivity and size, noting that the assignment is narrow in scope and limited to three weeks.
“The task is just for three weeks, and all the president requires is a report on how to combine finances with our existing database alongside a communications model to ensure the success of the much-needed census exercise,” he explained.
He appealed to Nigerians to support the federal government’s approach and avoid being misled by unfounded speculation.
“We are about to have the best population census of our lifetime and no distractions should be encouraged,” he said.