In a statement released on Monday, Dogara explained that it
would be better for the head count to be conducted after the 2019 elections, in
the interest of the country.
He also stated that waiting until a new administration comes
in, will ensure there will be no political pressure to manipulate its outcome.
“I won’t advise anyone to conduct national census in 2018. I
said it before that if we are not going to achieve it in 2017, then we should
just forget it until after 2019.
“If you conduct census at the niche of elections, there will
be so much pressure, crisis and the lure for people to manipulate the figures
for political reasons, such that the agency cannot even cope with.
“So, it is better for a fresh administration to conduct this
exercise from the beginning of that administration when we do not have any
pressure of elections in sight. Then we may have something that resembles
reality, but I can bet you if the census is conducted in 2018, the outcome will
be doubtable.
“Seriously speaking, because I know who we are and I know
the kind of litigations, backlashes, the pressure and we don’t need that now to
be candid.
“We have so many challenges, let’s empower the agencies to
keep building on the blocks that they will leverage on in the future in order
to do the exercise but doing it in 2018, honestly it is nothing I would
advocate,” Dogara’s statement read.
By Ifreke Inyang
