SOCIETY for Reproductive and Family Health (SRFH), on Monday, disclosed that Nigeria’s population now stood at 157million and charged the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN), to intensify enlightenment education on family planning.

Director- General of the SRFH, Professor Oladapo Alabi Ladipo, made the disclosure at the commissioning of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Resource Centre, at the complex of the National Assembly.

The centre was established by the House Committee on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) headed by Honourable Saadatu Sani, with assistance from PPFN.

Ladipo, while giving his goodwill message, said Nigeria now has a population figure of 157 million from the 140 million it had in 2006.

According to him, Nigeria has an annual growth rate of five million births with six million pregnancies yearly, even as he warned of the challenges posed by such high growth rate.

Professor Ladipo argued that issues such high maternal mortality, unwanted pregnancies, unemployment, pressure on available resources in hospitals, educational institutions as well environmental degradation, remained part of the challenges of uncontrolled growth in population.

He, therefore, tasked the PPFN to increase its awareness campaign on how and why Nigerians should embrace birth control, just as he noted that birth control was equally in practice in the past through traditional methods by the then forefathers.

Speaking at the commissioning, Speaker ‘Dimeji Bankole, who declared the centre open, noted that the MDGs programmes were targeted at alleviating the plight of the poor in the country.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/28072009/news/news6.html

how did he arrive at this figure?
As if they keep records of

blacksta:

According to him, Nigeria has an annual growth rate of five million births with six million pregnancies yearly, even as he warned of the challenges posed by such high growth rate.

does this include the diasporans? How did he arrive at that figure?

People must be pouring in through the various borders, in addition to the uncontrolled polygamy and birth rates.