Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, Odundun II, have urged the National Population Commission to conduct credible and acceptable census exercise in 2023.
They said future developmental plan of the country would be dependent on next year’s national census and housing exercise.
Both men spoke in Akure at a stakeholders summit on the 2023 population and housing census tagged “Getting the People Involved”.
Oba Aladetoyinbo said the NPC would be doing Nigerians a great deal if the exercise were credible.
The Akure monarch noted that the world has moved beyond the era of having huge population in desert region more than in the rain forest.
He cautioned against counting of animals in some regions as experienced in previous exercise.
Governor Akeredolu who was represented by his Deputy, Luck Aiyedatiwa, said the country’s inability to conduct a population census in the last 16 years has created an information vacuum as the data from the last Census has been rendered less useful for planning purposes.
The Ondo Governor stated that further implementation of his programmes and policies would be driven by the 2023 Census data.
Ondo State Federal Commissioner, NPC, Prince Oladiran Iyantan, assured that all Nigerians would be counted in the right way, at the right place and time and for the benefit of all residents in the country.