The federal government has postponed the 2023 Population and Housing Census even again.

According to a reliable source who talked with Daily Trust on Saturday, the decision was made Friday following a meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa Kwarra.

The source, who did not want his name used because he was not authorized to communicate with the media, said the postponement was made due to the difficulties the commission is having in carrying out the exercise smoothly.

While he did not reveal the difficulties to our reporter, the commission had previously suspended the training of ad hoc staff who would conduct the population count due to financial and logistical issues.

When asked if a new date had been set, he claimed he couldn’t because the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, will make an announcement about it today.

The Census was originally set for March 27, but was pushed back to May 3 due to the earlier postponing of the gubernatorial elections.

Also, during a meeting with the diplomatic corps in Abuja on Thursday, the chairman of the commission stated that the commission had not yet received all of the devices required to conduct the census, but that some devices would be procured in a few days.

“We need up to 800,000 PADs for the country, and we’ve only gotten about 500,000 so far.” “The rest will arrive in a few days,” he continued.

“But you know how they operate; it’s not as if the money will come that way,” he said of business sector and other major stakeholders’ donations for the census. They must consult with their own administration and examine their budget. As a result, the procedure remains ongoing. But we can’t say any money has arrived. It is a process, and it is unfolding.”

The NPC chairman was accompanied to the State House by Dr. Ipalipo Harry, the NPC’s Rivers State Federal Commissioner; Dr. Abdulmalik Durunguwa, the NPC’s Kaduna State Federal Commissioner; Tellson Osifo Ojogun, the NPC’s Director General; and Ms. Evelyn Olanipekun, the NPC’s Director of Census.