Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for directing that the 2023 National Population Census be postponed.

This is contained in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Terver Akase on Saturday in Makurdi.

Ortom had on April 13,  called on the Federal Government  to postpone the planned census until adequate security was guaranteed in the country.

The governor specifically stated that conducting the census will amount to injustice and deprivation of millions of Nigerians who have been displaced from their ancestral homes and are living in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the state and other parts of the country.

“I want to say that the FG should suspend the issue of census because it looks like the proposed census is coming with an agenda.

“So, until they are able to restore security and all our IDPs go back to their ancestral lands to give all of them opportunities to be counted in their homes of birth,” he said.

He further stated that he understood from the National Population Commission that those to be counted must be counted in their localities.

He said that with the postponement of the census now approved by Buhari, the Federal government should ensure that Nigerians whose communities had  been taken over by bandits and armed herders regained  their lands and returned home.

He said  the lives and well being of the people must be placed above other factors for the nation to realise its aspiration for greater growth and development. (NAN)