Ohanaeze Youth Council Rejects Tinubu’s National Census Committee, Calls for Inclusivity

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has voiced strong opposition to the composition of the newly inaugurated National Census Committee established by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The presidency, through Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, recently announced the formation of the high-level committee to oversee preparations for Nigeria’s next population and housing census. The country last conducted a national census in 2006, recording a population of 140,431,790—comprising 69,086,302 females and 71,345,488 males.

The new committee will be chaired by Senator Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning. Other members include key presidential aides, the Minister of Finance, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the Minister of Information, and Nasir Isa Kwarra, Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), who will also serve as the committee's secretary.

However, in a statement issued on Monday, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, National President of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, criticized the composition of the committee, alleging that it disproportionately favors the South-West while sidelining other regions.

Okwu described the census as a highly sensitive national exercise, stressing the need for fairness, inclusivity, and strict adherence to the federal character principle.

“We had hoped the presidency would correct the imbalance, but almost two weeks after its inauguration, the situation remains unchanged,” Okwu said.

He noted that past censuses in Nigeria had been marred by controversies and urged the government to seize this opportunity to get it right.

“It is regrettable that the current administration has appointed a committee that is heavily skewed toward one region, yet labeled it a ‘National Committee.’ There is nothing national about it,” he stated.

Okwu called on President Tinubu to either disband the committee or expand its membership to ensure equitable representation from all regions.

“We will not accept any attempt to manipulate population figures for Ndigbo,” he warned, emphasizing that the census must not follow the pattern of other controversial decisions made by the administration.