Nigeria’s last credible population census was conducted in 2006. Twenty years later, the most populous country in Africa still does not know how many people live within its borders.
This is not a minor administrative inconvenience. It is a governance crisis with consequences that touch every Nigerian in the classroom, in the hospital, in the ward, and at the polling booth.
What makes this crisis more alarming is what we have found in the public expenditure records. Tracka unravelled payments totalling N129.5 billion made to various contractors and service providers in connection with activities related to the conduct of the suspended 2023 National Population Census between February 2022 and December 2023.
The census, which was announced, partially mobilised, and ultimately truncated without a single enumeration result being published, has consumed billions of naira of public funds with no corresponding public accountability.
Our independent tracking has revealed that disbursements were made, among others, for the following items:
- 38 billion for Personal Digital Assistants and Accessories
- 47 billion for Hilux vehicles
- 8 million for power banks
- 19 million for an e-recruitment portal
These figures raise questions that the National Population Commission has, to date, refused to answer.
In keeping with our commitment to evidence-based accountability, Tracka formally wrote to the National Population Commission on 19 February 2026, under Reference No. TRK/FOI/NPC/001, invoking the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011. The letter, addressed to the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Hon. (Dr.) Aminu Yusuf, specifically requested:
First, the total amount of funds released and disbursed for the 2023 Population Census exercise from inception to date.
Second, a full breakdown of all disbursements, including amounts, dates, beneficiaries, and the purpose for which each payment was made. Third, the expected deliverables or outcomes tied to the funds disbursed so far. Fourth, the current status of the census project and any revised timelines for completion.
Fifth, any monitoring, evaluation, or audit reports concerning the use of these funds.
The letter was received and officially acknowledged by the Office of the Executive Chairman of the National Population Commission on 2 March 2026. That stamp is on record.
As of today, March 26, 2026, more than three weeks after receipt, the National Population Commission has provided no response, no acknowledgement of the specific requests, and no indication that a response is forthcoming.
This silence is not an administrative delay. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2011, a public institution is required to respond within seven days. The National Population Commission is now in clear violation of Nigerian law.
WHY THIS MATTERS BEYOND THE NUMBERS
According to Joshua Osiyemi, the Head of Tracka, “We recognise that for some, N129.5 billion is an abstraction, a large figure in a country accustomed to large figures. We want to be clear about what this money was supposed to deliver and what its absence means in practical terms.
An accurate, credible population census is not a statistical exercise. It is the foundation upon which every serious development decision in a modern state is built. Without it, children continue to attend overcrowded classrooms because governments cannot accurately project school-age populations or allocate educational resources equitably.
Hospitals and Primary Health Centres remain under-resourced because health planners are working with projections that are now two decades out of date. Federal allocations to states and local governments are distributed based on population estimates that no longer reflect demographic reality, deepening regional inequality and political grievance.
Social protection programmes from conditional cash transfers to school feeding schemes are designed on guesswork rather than evidence, meaning the most vulnerable Nigerians are routinely missed. Electoral representation, constituency delineation, and the allocation of political seats continue to rest on figures from 2006, a structural injustice embedded in Nigeria’s democratic architecture.
Behind every one of these consequences are real people, including children, patients, farmers, and mothers whose needs are systematically undercounted because Nigeria has not done what every serious country does as a matter of routine governance.”
N129.5 billion was paid, at least in part, to address this problem. The problem remains entirely unaddressed. Is the money gone? Meanwhile, the National Population Commission has not explained what happened.
OUR DEMANDS
Tracka, as a programme of BudgIT Foundation, makes the following formal demands:
To the National Population Commission: Respond to our Freedom of Information request immediately and in full, as required by law.
Publish a comprehensive public account of every naira disbursed for the 2023 census exercise, including the identity of all contractors, the value of all contracts, and the deliverables received against each payment. Provide a clear, time-bound roadmap for when Nigeria will have a credible, completed population census.
To the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission: We urge the Commission to take a serious interest in the disbursement and utilisation of the N129.5 billion tracked for this exercise. The scale of spending against the complete absence of outcomes warrants urgent investigative attention.
To the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission: We call on the Commission to examine the procurement processes through which contracts for Personal Digital Assistants, Hilux vehicles, power banks, and other accessories were awarded, and to determine whether due process was followed and whether value for money was obtained.
To the National Assembly Public Account Committee: The legislature has both the constitutional authority and the civic responsibility to summon the National Population Commission for a public hearing on the utilisation of census funds. We call on the relevant committees of both chambers to exercise that authority without delay. Nigerians deserve to hear these answers in public.
A FINAL WORD
Tracka exists because Nigerians deserve a government that can be held to account, not only at election time, but every day and in every line of the public budget. We will continue to track, verify, and publish findings on the use of public funds, regardless of the agency involved or the political sensitivity of the subject matter.
The suspended 2023 census is not simply a technocratic failure. It is a symbol of a governance culture in which billions can be spent, projects can be abandoned, laws can be violated, and institutions can remain silent without consequence.
We do not accept that silence. Nigeria cannot plan its future without knowing its people. And Nigerians cannot trust their government without knowing where their money went.
We will be watching. And we will keep asking.
