Senator Victor Umeh, Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Identity and Population, has called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the conduct of a Population and Housing Census, warning that without it, Nigeria will continue to “grope in the dark” in terms of planning and development.
Umeh made the call in Abuja during the launch of the 2025 State of the World Population Report, jointly organized by the National Population Commission (NPC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
He stressed the urgent need for a comprehensive census to accurately determine Nigeria’s population size, unemployment figures, population distribution, and other critical demographic data.
According to him, “National planning and development would be much easier with reliable census data.”
Umeh further lamented the current reliance on speculative figures
He said,” Today, nobody knows the actual population of Nigeria. We are just using estimates. Some people say we are 200 million, others say 220 million, while some say we are about 230 million.T
“These are just projections. And that is why there is no alternative to having a national census.”
He assured that the National Assembly remains fully committed to ensuring that a Population and Housing Census is conducted soon, saying, “We are irrevocably committed to it.”
Umeh, representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, also cautioned against any legislative attempts to impose a limit on the number of children Nigerian couples can have.
Speaking further on the State of the World Population Report, Umeh remarked that it is “very difficult to regulate or control birth by law,” and instead advocated for improved sex education among adolescent girls as a more effective means of managing the birth rate.
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