Dr Samuel Nzekwe, a financial expert, has advised the Federal Government to intensify efforts toward conducting a population census that would facilitate a sustainable national planning.
Nzekwe, who was a former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ota, Ogun, on Monday.
According to him, the conduct of population census in the country was long over due as the last time the nation conducted the exercise was 15 years ago.
The former ANAN president said that failure to conduct a census had led to the population commission estimating the country’s total population.
“This development made it difficult for national planners to plan as we do not know the existing age brackets in the population.
“We should be able to determine to certain degree of acceptance that this is the actual population of the country.” he said.
The former ANAN president further said that the country needed to determine the total population size, which would have immediate solution to the problem of unemployment, welfare of the aged and provision of social infrastructure for the populace.
Nzekwe called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency conduct a census, so that the nation can plan appropriately and harness its resources for development.
NAN reports that the last population census was conducted in the country in 2006 with Nigeriia population then standing at 142.5million.
The census ideally should be conducted every 10 years.(NAN)
