The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to delivering a credible, transparent, and internationally acceptable national census, anchored on effective public communication and inter-agency collaboration.
The Minister stated this in Abuja while receiving the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Dr Aminu Yusuf, who led a management delegation on a courtesy visit, yesterday.
According to him, credible data remains the foundation of national planning, stressing that without accurate population figures, effective development planning becomes impossible.
He assured the NPC leadership that the Ministry and its agencies, including the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Voice of Nigeria (VON), and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), stand fully ready to mobilise Nigerians and drive nationwide advocacy whenever the President proclaims a census date.
The Minister emphasised that the Tinubu administration is committed to conducting a census that Nigerians and the international community can trust, adding that the Federal Government is prioritising process, legality, and credibility over haste.
He reiterated that the presidential proclamation remains the legal basis for the conduct of the census, assuring that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is carefully aligning all requirements to ensure the exercise meets global standards.
The Minister urged the NPC to continue leveraging government-owned media platforms for sustained public enlightenment, while assuring that the Ministry will fully discharge its mandate of advocating government programmes and policies in the national interest.
Earlier, the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Dr Aminu Yusuf, commended the Ministry of Information and National Orientation for its consistent support and leadership in public mobilisation efforts ahead of the postponed census.
He said the Commission remains operationally ready, with systems, logistics, ICT infrastructure, and personnel continuously refined to guarantee efficiency, transparency, and credibility once a new census date is announced.
Yusuf also sought sustained access to government media platforms to deepen public understanding of census participation, civil registration, and vital statistics, describing public trust as central to the success of population management in Nigeria.
