Enenche Challenges Nigeria to Conduct Religious Census as 2027 Politics Deepens Faith Debate
Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Dr Paul Enenche, has called on the Nigerian government to conduct a credible census that would determine the actual religious composition of the country, particularly the number of Christians and Muslims.
Enenche made the call during a church service on Sunday, August 16, 2026, while reacting to recent comments attributed to Islamic cleric Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir concerning religion, population strength and political participation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The pastor's intervention comes amid renewed debate over whether Muslims or Christians constitute the larger religious population in Nigeria. Jingir reportedly argued that Muslims outnumber Christians in the country and encouraged Muslims to use their numerical strength politically, including supporting Muslim candidates and the continuation of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
Enenche challenged the basis for making definitive claims about Nigeria's religious population without reliable, official data. He therefore called for a census in which Nigerians would be given the opportunity to identify their religious affiliation.
According to reports of his remarks, Enenche questioned why a credible census had not been conducted to settle the issue, arguing that such an exercise could produce results that challenge assumptions about the religious composition of different parts of the country.
The controversy highlights a longstanding problem: Nigeria does not currently have a recent official census that provides a reliable breakdown of the population by religion.
The Pew Research Center noted in a 2025 analysis that the last Nigerian census effort to measure religion was in 1973, but its results were not published following allegations of data falsification. The most recent publicly available census data containing religious information dates back to 1963. Pew also reported that the National Population Commission had clarified that the postponed 2023 census was not intended to include a religion question because of the sensitivity surrounding the issue.
Consequently, claims about whether Christians or Muslims constitute a majority are often based on surveys, demographic projections and other estimates rather than a contemporary official religious census.
Pew's research describes Muslims as Nigeria's largest religious group and Christians as the second-largest, while also stressing that Nigeria's religious landscape is more complex than a simple Christian-Muslim divide, with African traditional beliefs continuing to influence many Nigerians.
The timing of Enenche's call is particularly significant as Nigeria approaches the 2027 presidential election. Religious identity and political representation have once again become prominent issues, especially following the emergence of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket at the federal level.
Recent efforts by Muslim and Christian leaders to promote religious harmony have also underscored the sensitivity of the issue. On August 13, 2026, more than 50 Muslim and Christian leaders signed a peace accord in Abuja aimed at promoting religious harmony and reducing extremism and hate speech ahead of the 2027 election season.
For Enenche, however, the argument appears to come down to one fundamental question: if religious population figures are going to be used to justify political claims, why not establish the numbers through credible national data?
A transparent and professionally conducted census could potentially provide Nigerians with a clearer picture of the country's religious demographics and help move the debate away from competing assumptions and unverified claims.
With the 2027 elections drawing closer, the question of who constitutes Nigeria's religious majority may therefore remain politically charged. Enenche's demand for a credible census has now added another dimension to an already sensitive national conversation about religion, population and political power.
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