From Maurice Okafor, Enugu
The Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial district in the National Assembly, Senator Victor Umeh, has described adequate census as a panacea for Nigeria’s socio-economic development and planning, urging the Federal government to expedite action in conducting another and reliable census in no distant time.
Senator Victor Umeh, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on National Identity and Population, cautioned that without adequate national census, Nigeria will continue to grope in the dark in her plans for development.
Sen. Umeh stated this at the launch of the 2025 State of the World Population Report, held in Abuja, recently.
He stressed that conduct of national census has become imperative, as it would enable the government to know the exact number of Nigeria’s population, the number of the unemployed, population distribution, among others.
His words, “Today, nobody knows the actual population of Nigeria. We are just using estimates. Some people say we are 200 million people, others say we are 220 million people, while some others say, we are about 230 million people.
“These are projections. And that is why there is no alternative to having a national census.”
He disclosed that the National Assembly is committed to ensuring that Population and Housing Census is conducted soon.
He called on the members of the National Assembly to resist the urge to legislate the number of children each Nigerian couple should give birth to.
Speaking on the State of the World Population, Umeh explained that it is very difficult to regulate birth, adding that emphasis should be given on sex education among the adolescent girls to control birth rate.
