The National Population Commission (NPC) has admitted that it does not have accurate figures on Nigeria’s population because the various estimates that have been presented by the commission in the past have been mired in controversy.

This, it said, had compelled the commission to adopt the biometric form of data capture for the 2016 national census exercise. It however noted that the commission would not conduct the exercise if the conditions for preparation, training and other logistics were not met.

The Chairman of the NPC, Chief Festus Odimegwu, said this when he received the Director General of the International Organization on Migration (IOM), Ambassador William Lacy Swing, at the NPC headquarters in Abuja yesterday.

Odimegwu expressed concern that government-owned agencies and politicians have lent credence to fictitious figures by choosing to quote the World Bank, United Nations and other international bodies on Nigeria’s population.

“We do not really know our population; that is the truth of the matter because all the census ever conducted in this country ended in controversy.

“We do our work but politicians interfere and at the end, you do not really know what population or census figures are,” he said.

“That is why we want to do a biometric census that will be properly done. And we will not do it if the conditions for it are not met – the preparation, training and equipment.

“If all these are not in place, we will not conduct a census in 2016,” Odimegwu added.

He outlined the migration-related activities slated for implementation by the NPC to include the Conduct of Survey and Mapping of Nigerians in the Diaspora, the Conduct of Nigeria Youth Migration Survey and the Clearing of the Backlog of Migration Arrival and Departure Cards.

“Nigeria needs to get simple things right like knowing our population, its full demographic characterization and dynamics, and we need all the support of our development partners to get these going.

“Given the sheer size of Nigeria in emerging frontier markets, it cannot be ignored by the international community, if global peace and progress should follow predicated pathways,” he said.

The Director General of the IOM, Ambassador Swing, in his response, expressed the readiness of the organization to assist in capacity building for officials of the NPC, especially on how to integrate migration management matters into its priorities.

He appealed for a commitment towards responsible population management, especially when taking into consideration the challenges posed by natural and man-made disasters.

In October 2011, the NPC had put an estimate on the number of Nigerians citizens at 167,912,516 up from the 140,431,790 census figures of 2006. It also projected that Nigeria’s population would hit 221,392,163 by July 2020 at an estimated 3.2 per cent growth rate per annum, which was the growth rate between 1991 and 2006.

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