Which region ignited the census crisis of 1963 by not accepting the government’s figures?
eastern
mid-western
Lagos territory
northern
western
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The correct answer is Eastern region
According to Essential Government - The Eastern and Mid-Western Regions rejected the figures claiming they were inflated and characterized by gross inadequacies and irregularities. Eastern region went to the supreme Court challenging the authenticity of the result.
The answer is A.
The 1963 census crisis was largely fueled by the Eastern Region's rejection of the census results. They believed the figures were manipulated to inflate the Northern Region's population, which would have implications for political representation and resource allocation.
The correct answer is A. Though mid-western along with the Eastern region rejected it outrightly but the Eastern region went as far as going to supreme court which the unfavourable judgement led to the crisis.
THE CENSUS CRISIS OF 1962/63A population census was conducted in Nigeria in 1962, but the outcome of the result was widely criticized. Some people claimed it was rigged and should be cancelled. The government had to cancel it and another one was proposed in 1963. A census board was set up under the authority of the prime minister, to handle the 1963 population census. A new census was conducted in November 1963 and in February 1964 the provisional figures that put the population of Nigeria at 55.7 Million were published. A breakdown of the figures gave the north 29.8 Million, East 12.4 Million, West 10.3 Million, Mid-West 2.5 Million and Lagos 0.7 Million. However, it was accepted by the federal government, so also the Northern and Western Regions.
The Eastern and Mid-Western Regions rejected the figures outright claiming that they were inflated and characterized by gross irregularities and inadequacies. Eastern Region went to the Supreme Court challenging the authenticity and the Federal Government’s acceptance of the results. The court ruled in favour of the Federal Government, stating that the Eastern Region did not have a locus standing to sue on the issue. These figures, therefore, remained the official figures used as base figures for projections for all developmental matters, constituency delimitations, allocation of seats to the parliament, boundary adjustments, etc.
