By Joseph Erunke
As Nigeria inches closer to its next national census, the federal government has placed effective communication at the heart of plans to deliver a credible, transparent and globally acceptable headcount.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this clear in Abuja on Wednesday while receiving the Chairman of the National Population Commission,NPC, Dr. Aminu Yusuf, who led a management delegation on a courtesy visit.
Idris stressed that no meaningful national planning can occur without reliable population data, warning that inaccurate figures undermine development efforts and policy execution.
“Our census must be one Nigerians can trust and one the international community will accept,” the minister said, noting that the Tinubu administration is determined to prioritise credibility, legality and due process over rushing the exercise.
He assured the NPC of the full backing of his 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, to mobilise citizens and drive nationwide advocacy once the President formally proclaims a census date.
According to Idris, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is carefully aligning all legal and procedural requirements to ensure the census meets international standards, adding that the presidential proclamation remains the lawful trigger for the exercise.
He urged the NPC to intensify the use of government-owned media platforms for sustained public enlightenment, pledging that the ministry would fully deploy its communication machinery in the national interest.
Earlier, NPC Chairman Dr. Aminu Yusuf praised the Ministry of Information for its consistent support, describing public mobilisation as critical to the success of the census.
He disclosed that the commission remains operationally ready, with logistics, ICT infrastructure, systems and personnel continually refined to guarantee efficiency, transparency and credibility once a new census date is announced.
Yusuf also called for sustained access to government media platforms to deepen public understanding of census participation, civil registration and vital statistics, stressing that public trust is central to effective population management in Nigeria.
The post FG banks on media power for credible national census appeared first on Vanguard News.
