Nigeria took a step closer on Monday to conducting a new national population and housing census with biometric and digital components. The nation last held a census in November 2006.

President Bola Tinubu, at a meeting at the State House with officials of the National Population Commission (NPC), said he would set up a committee to align the census budget to the government’s present financial realities.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, stated this in a statement made available to TheIdeal News on Monday.

The President further said that the National Identity Management Commission(NIMC) must be part of the review.

He said, “We must ascertain who we are, how many we are, and how to manage our data. Without an accurate census, we can’t successfully plan for employment, agriculture, and food sovereignty. So many problems come up without accurate data”

He reiterated his commitment to ensuring accurate and reliable figures from the national census to strengthen development planning and improve Nigerians’ living conditions through more efficient social security.

The National Population Commission (NPC) Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra, and some other members briefed the President.

Tinubu also noted that government incentives, such as the sale and distribution of fertilisers, could be easily improved with more reliable data and demographics.

The President told the delegation that biometric capturing should be central to the process, with multiple identification features, including facial and voice recognition.

He said, “We should work on our financial muscle well in place to lift our burden before we go and meet development partners for the census. We should work out the figures before discussing the role of development partners.

“This stop-and-go activity on the census cannot work with me. So we better have a definite path. I will set up a committee for you to look at the issues critically and do a source and application of resources. Where can we get help, and what can we lift before we embark on proclamation?

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, said the census data would be central to future planning and resource distribution.

Bagudu said, “At a retreat for the ministers in 2023, Mr President, you reiterated your commitment to the census, so there is no doubt about your desire and commitment to have the census. In fact, at the last Federal Executive Council meeting, you asked me what the problem was, and I told you it was simply an issue of lack of ability to fund the census.

“Even today, before this meeting, I called the NPC Chairman and restated your commitment to the census. However, the commission and all of us in the team need to agree on the minimum amount we can source to support Mr President in making the final decision.

“The NPC indicated that 40 per cent of the funding for the 2006 census came from development partners.”

Bagudu noted that the enumeration done by NPC so far has been helpful.

He said, “Mr President, we have been having ecosystem meetings to link the identity agencies, even the geo-spatial chaired by the ministry, because of our mandate as the supervising ministry of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). So the NPC, NBS, NIMC, Ministry Of Digital Economy, passport, social register, voters register, and even telecoms data have been meeting with the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) to see how much is available to the government regarding data and how much optimisation can take place.”

In his presentation, the NPC chairman Kwarra said the last census took place in 2006, and 19 years later, the figures were no longer relevant in planning, particularly for key sectors that directly impact the population.

He said 760,000 tablets had been acquired and stored with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), assuring the commission would engage with development partners to seek support whenever President Tinubu proclaimed the new census.

Local government officials in Osun State, on Monday, dismissed the 72-hour ultimatum to resume their duties, in the context of the ongoing conflict for dominance between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the opposition All Progressives Congress.

The local government chairmen elected under the APC banner in 2022 returned to their respective council secretariats, escorted by security forces.

Conversely, the newly elected chairmen from the PDP, who took office on Saturday, chose to remain absent from the secretariat, adhering to the advice given by Governor Ademola Adeleke on Sunday.

The PDP and the APC are currently embroiled in a tussle over the control of the LGs.

The APC relies on a recent Court of Appeal judgment, which reportedly nullified a high court judgment that removed the LG chairmen elected in 2022, shortly after their election.

While the APC clung to the appeal court verdict, the Adeleke-led PDP government went ahead to conduct a fresh LG poll on Saturday, which PDP candidates won, as the APC did not participate.

The political tussle over the LG has been bloody, with at least six lives lost.

The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees have since ordered workers to stay away from the LG secretariats for fear of being caught in violent crossfire.

However, on returning to the secretariats on Monday, the APC LG chairmen gave the workers a 72-hour ultimatum to return to work, stating that calm had returned.

But the NLC leadership, in an interview with The PUNCH on Monday, rejected the ultimatum, saying workers would not resume.

Our correspondent, who checked Ifelodun LG headquarters in Ikirun, Olorunda LG in Igbona and Osogbo LG secretariat in Oke Baale, observed that the APC council officials had returned to the premises.

The entrance to the Osogbo LG secretariat was later shut.

Also, heavy security presence was also observed on major roads across the state with roadblocks mounted at the entrance to the secretariats by armed police operatives and those of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

Police presence was observed along Osogbo/Kwara Boundary Road, Osogbo/Ilesa Road, Gbongan/Osogbo Road, as well as, Osogbo Ibokun Road.

But business activities progress unhindered across the state capital.

Reviewing the situation during an interview with The PUNCH, an APC chieftain, Jamiu Olawumi, who served as the Special Adviser on Education to ex-governor Adegboyega Oyetola, said the chairmen and councilors had resumed in all the 30 LGs.

Olawumi also said the chairmen had directed local government staff members to return to their duty posts before Wednesday.

“All chairmen and councillors have resumed in all local governments and area councils in Osun State, including Irewole LG. The local governments and local council development areas are agog and full of life.

“The security is very tight; we have responsible police officers, DSS and Civil Defence. They are doing their jobs as directed by the Inspector General of Police.

“Most of the chairmen have issued press releases this morning that their workers should resume by Wednesday. After Wednesday, if they don’t resume, they will have their job determined. It is 72 hours ultimately,” he said.

But reacting to this, the Chairmen of the NLC, Osun State Chapter, Christopher Arapasopo, in a statement sent to our correspondent, said workers in the state would not intimidated by anyone.

Arapasopo said, “We directed our members to withdraw their services last week Monday, 27th February 2025 due to the political uproar bringing agitations and fear among our members working within the local government across Osun State.

“We cannot allow workers to be working in an atmosphere of insecurity. If not because we moved into action by directing our members at the local government to withdraw their services last week, when some unscrupulous elements forcefully broke into the Secretariat, which that action led to the crisis, what happened at the local government would have been more disastrous.

“As organised labour movement in the Osun State, we cannot watch our members be victims of any crisis at all. Their safety at work is highly important. A directive was also given today to affirm our earlier release, notifying all the local government workers that the earlier directive given to withdraw their services as a result of political upheaval within their workplaces still subsist, while they continue to pray for the State from their various homes, because their safety is our priority.

“The sacked chairmen lack the power to intimidate, threaten and instruct our members to resume work. We will not be intimidated by any desperate attempts to silence us. We urge all political parties and their members to abide by the rule of law. We insist on the rule of law to avoid a descent to anarchy.”

The NLC chairman called on President Bola Tinubu to look into the happenings in Osun and get the crisis resolved.

“We are calling on the father of Nigeria, that is President Bola Tinubu, to look into the happenings in Osun State as a father. We also call on all security agencies to ensure the safety of all lives and properties within Osun State Local Government and the masses.

“Osun State NLC, TUC and JNC remain resolute in our commitment to defending the rights and interest of Workers, Pensioners and the entire populace.”

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), Nigeria’s former military president has shared a story how he married his wife, Maryam.

He also revealed that he was the one that converted her to Islam.

He opened up about his marriage to his late wife Maryam in his newly released autobiography.

The book, titled ‘A Journey in Service‘, was launched on Thursday. The event also featured a fundraiser for his presidential library.

In the memoir, Babangida said he first met Maryam, formerly Maria Okogwu, during their younger years in Kaduna.

He said at the time, they were both living in the unmarried officers’ quarters on Kanta Road.

The former military ruler said he was immediately drawn to Maryam’s striking beauty, and their friendship blossomed over time.

IBB said despite his training stints abroad, including in India and the United Kingdom, their bond endured.

The 83-year-old statesman said he would often visit Maryam at the home of his close friend and cousin Garba Duba, whose father was fond of him.

He said the connection allowed him to spend more time with Maryam and their friendship continued to grow.

“I first met Maria Okogwu (as she then was). As young officers, we shared digs in the unmarried officer’s quarters by Kanta Road in Kaduna, and I was now seeing more of Maria,” he wrote.

“She was stunning. Her ebony beauty set off enchanting eyes, and her dazzling smile showed off a lovely set of teeth; when she smiled – and she often smiled – her face lit up, and her eyes danced. Duba was as much a brother as a cousin to her, and, on the back of that, I often saw Maria at Duba’s house and when she visited us at Kanta Road.

“I was very fond of Maria, and she, eventually, of me. There was more than an element of predestination in our relationship.

“It was at NMTC that I began to notice Maria more. Duba’s father was fond of me, so I was mindful that my bonds with the family meant that I had to be more cautious than usual, a factor that synced with my natural shyness.

“She and I remained friends and maintained that friendship through my early years in the army, which included sojourns abroad for training in India and the United Kingdom.”

IBB recalled how his near-death experience at age 28 sparked his desire to get married. He said after being shot in battle, he was left with a piece of shrapnel lodged in the right side of his chest.

The former head of state said while receiving treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi-Araba, Lagos, he felt a sense of urgency to settle down.

IBB added that as his parents’ only surviving male child, he felt the weight of responsibility to start a family and secure his legacy.

“This was the first time I recall seriously thinking it was time to find a wife as a life partner. I was 28, and it seemed to me that it was time to settle down,” he wrote.

“While I was in the hospital, the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Yakubu Gowon, had gotten married to his lovely wife, Victoria, with much pomp and military pageantry.

“I cannot deny that their marriage and the accompanying ceremony further focused my mind on getting married myself.

“Lying in my hospital bed, I had lots of time to run through the various relationships I had had and try to decide which of them would best stand the test of time. Time and again, Maria Okogwu kept popping into my mind with her ageless beauty and enchanting smile.

“I had settled on Maria as the woman I would wed before being discharged from the hospital, and as soon as I was discharged, I made my way to Kaduna, where she lived with her mother and uncle. I was anxious to share the good news with her: I had decided we were destined for a life together. I admired her greatly for her reserved nature and the fact that she was well brought up.

“I wanted to make my intentions known to her and was determined not to accept No for an answer. Fortune favours the bold, and it smiled upon me; I counted and still count myself lucky. Initially, Maria was highly sceptical of me as marrying material.

“She knew that I had a track record of being something of a man about town, and those were not the qualities she wanted in a husband. She was unconvinced of my capacity to be serious, and many people said as much to her.”

IBB said with the support of Muhammadu King, Garba Duba’s father, he was able to win Maryam’s heart.

He revealed that his faith was an integral part of his life so he asked her to convert from Christianity to Islam.

Babangida said he also promised Maryam that he would not take multiple wives, a practice he had seen cause turmoil in other families.

“I shared with her the fact that my faith was an integral and essential part of my life and that I would require her to convert to Islam,” he said.

“Praise be to Allah; this was not a difficult decision for Maria. Being part-Christian and part-Muslim at birth and already living in a Muslim household, it was never going to be wholly uncharted territory for her.

“She adapted with relative ease to married life as a Muslim. In proposing to Maria, I assured her that, though a Muslim, I did not intend to take multiple wives and bring up children from different women. I knew full well that my chances of a stable family life would be significantly improved if I avoided polygamy. I had witnessed close up – both among professional colleagues and in my extended family – the headaches and heartaches this led to, and that was not the life I wanted to live or to share with her.”

Maryam died from ovarian cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on December 27, 2009, at the age of 61.

Babangida said coping without her had not been easy, but the memories of their life together provided solace.

IBB married Mariam on September 6, 1969. They have four children together — Aisha, Muhammad, Aminu, and Halima.