The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the National Population Commission (NPC), has disclosed its plan to recruit one million Nigerian enumerators for the conduct of the National Census in 2026. NPC Adhoc Staff Recruitment Portal For 2026 Census.
The NPC management assured Nigerians that a reliable technological innovation had been put in place by the agency for the smooth conduct of the exercise to prevent interested politicians or elites from manipulating the process.
Deji Ajayi, the Commissioner representing Ekiti State at the NPC, stated this in Ado Ekiti, on Monday, during a press conference on the trial census to be conducted in Ekiti, preparatory to next year’s main census exercise.
Meanwhile, the former Ekiti State Head of Service added that 9 towns across the 9 selected local governments out of the 16 councils in the state had been delineated into Enumerated Areas (EAs) to ease the trial census.
The retired Permanent Secretary disclosed that the areas to be covered in the trial census in Ekiti include: Ado, Emure, Iro, Ijero, Ikole, Iworoko, Ise, Ikun, and Omuo Ekiti.
“This is the first time we will be doing a paperless census. Everything will be digital to check corruption and bring about accurate data that can help national development.
“Census is a massive operation that will engage one million personnel and managing such a huge workforce manually will raise huge logistical and documentation challenges.
“It is in recognition of this fact that the NPC resolved that recruitment for the 2026 census will be done electronically. This trial census will provide an opportunity to test the feasibility of e-recruitment.”
Emphasizing the significance of census to nation-building, Ajayi noted that the population statistics would be used by private organisations to plan for the recruitment of young Nigerians by knowing the number of the active population.
“The government will also use such statistics to plan for our youth, students and the health needs of Nigerians. They will also know the number of gerontocrats who should be catered for,” he said.
While assuring Nigerians that the exercise will be difficult to manipulate, the NPC boss said: “Technology is open to manipulation, but NPC has gone a step higher by having an updated technology innovation that can prevent multiple registrations.
“The biometric technology will capture your face and fingerprints and goes to the server and any similar information supplied will be noticed and expunged from the data immediately.
“This time, no person who is not seen will register as a Nigerian. We have put everything in place to ensure that this exercise will neither be hijacked nor politicised.
“The commission has intensified preparatory activities deploying technological innovation on a massive scale to conduct a truly scientific census that will not only be accurate and reliable but also transparent to all Nigerians.”
“We have also brought in some eggheads from our universities and retired experts from the civil service to train our workers for better efficiency,” he said.
FAQs
1. What is the FG plan to recruit one million Nigerians for the 2026 Census?
The Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria, through the National Population Commission (NPC), has announced plans to recruit about one million Nigerians to serve as ad-hoc staff for the 2026 national population and housing census. These recruits will assist in data collection, supervision, technical support, and other field operations across the country.
2. Who is eligible to apply for the 2026 Census recruitment?
Eligible applicants are expected to be Nigerian citizens who meet the minimum educational qualifications set by the National Population Commission. Generally, applicants must have at least a secondary school certificate, possess valid identification (such as NIN), and have basic digital skills since the census is expected to be technology-driven. Specific requirements will be officially announced before recruitment begins.
3. How can interested Nigerians apply for the NPC 2026 Census recruitment?
Interested candidates will be required to apply through the official portal of the National Population Commission once the recruitment portal is opened. Applicants are advised to regularly check official NPC announcements and avoid unofficial websites to prevent scams. The application process is usually free of charge.
4. What roles will recruited staff perform during the 2026 Census?
Recruited personnel will serve in various capacities, including enumerators, supervisors, field coordinators, data quality officers, and ICT support staff. Their main responsibility will be to collect accurate population and housing data across Nigeria to support national planning and development.