Former Military Administrator of Kaduna State, Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar(retd),says the proposed national population census by the Federal Government is a misplaced priority.
The government should suspend the exercise billed for next April and focus proposed on tackling the insecurity confronting the country,Umar,who is also the Chairman of the Movement for Unity and Progress,(MUP),said in a statement.
Nigeria,he said,should not be engaging in head counts when its stability is shaking on account of insecurity and economic woes.
He added that embarking on a census would amount to a misadventure and waste of scarce resources.
His statement reads: “The decision of the FGN to seek and get the approval of the National Council of State to conduct the National census in April 2023 must have come as a great shock to most well-meaning Nigerians.A country that is facing existential challenges such as unprecedented level of insecurity, collapsing economy cannot have as one of its priorities the conduct of a national census.
“We,therefore ,urge the Buhari administration to suspend what will amount to misadventure and waste of scarce national resources.
This administration should focus all its attention on securing the nation and conducting the 2023 elections.A national census at this point is certainly not a priority assuming that its conduct is possible”.
