Nigeria’s House of Representatives on Tuesday called on the Federal Government to suspend the planned 2021 census until the insecurity situation in the country is addressed.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila advised the Federal Government to suspend the exercise till such a time the country was safe enough for it.
This was disclosed in a series of tweets on the official handle of the House of Representatives.
According to the lawmakers, the accuracy of the figures that would be obtained and the overall success of the exercise largely depend on the level of security in the country
The resolution of the House was passed following a motion moved by a member representing Bosso/Paikoro Federal Constituency of Niger State, Shehu Beji.
According to him, “many households would be unwilling to make family members available for enumeration because of the fear of the unknown.
“He added that it would be unwise in the prevailing circumstances to post enumerators to some parts of the country currently considered to be volatile.
“Beji argued that the fact that many locations would not be reached by enumerators was enough a reason to suspend the planned exercise,” the tweets read in part
The House also invited the Chairman of the NPC, Nasir Isa Kwarra, to explain the feasibility of conducting a population and housing census in the country amid the current security challenges.