NPC chairman Aminu Wushishi dies at 66, eight months after taking office

The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Dr Aminu Yusuf Wushishi, has died at the age of 66, barely eight months after assuming leadership of the commission.

Wushishi, popularly known as Talban Wushishi, reportedly died on Friday, August 28, 2026, following a brief illness.

His death was confirmed by his Special Adviser on Media, Stanley Nwosu, who said the NPC chairman became ill before his death.

“Yes, it is true. The NPC chairman died after a brief illness,” Nwosu told journalists.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), citing a statement by the NPC Director of Public Affairs, Adelayo Olurode, reported that Wushishi died in Abuja.

News of his death reportedly reached Minna, the Niger State capital, around the time of the Juma’at prayer, triggering an outpouring of grief among his associates, political allies and people of the Kontagora Emirate.

Wushishi was born on April 15, 1960, in Wushishi, Niger State, according to his official biography.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Wushishi as Chairman of the National Population Commission in 2025, following the end of the tenure of his predecessor, Nasir Isa Kwarra.

The Senate confirmed his nomination in October 2025, paving the way for his assumption of office.

He was subsequently sworn in at the Presidential Villa on December 2, 2025, and formally began his tenure on December 3.

His tenure, however, lasted less than nine months before his death.

Before his appointment to the NPC, Wushishi had accumulated extensive experience in politics, public administration, education and community development.

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He served as Special Adviser on Political Affairs to the Niger State Governor between 2019 and 2023.

He was also involved in the 2022 presidential campaign of the All Progressives Congress, serving as Assistant Director, Grassroots Mobilisation for the North-Central zone.

Wushishi previously served as Executive Chairman of Wushishi Local Government Area and was a Member-elect of the Niger State House of Assembly.

He also served on the governing board of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Despite his relatively short tenure at the NPC, Wushishi presided over initiatives aimed at modernising Nigeria’s population and civil-registration systems.

One of the major reforms introduced under his leadership was the nationwide deployment of the VitalReg digital birth and death registration platform, implemented under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system.

The digital registration platform became fully operational nationwide on July 1, 2026.

The initiative was designed to improve the accuracy and accessibility of birth and death records while strengthening the demographic data available to the government for planning, policymaking and development.

Wushishi had described the reform as a significant transformation of Nigeria’s civil-registration system.

His death comes at a critical period for the National Population Commission, which is responsible for generating population and demographic data used by the government for planning, resource allocation and development policies.

The commission is also expected to play a central role in Nigeria’s long-awaited national population census.

Reacting to the development, Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago described Wushishi’s death as a “shocking and colossal loss” to Niger State and Nigeria.

Bago said the late NPC chairman’s experience in demographic research, data management and policy implementation would be greatly missed, particularly at a time when his expertise was considered important to the preparations for the national census.

The governor commiserated with Wushishi’s family, the National Population Commission and the people of Niger State, describing his death as a major loss to public service.

Wushishi’s sudden death leaves the NPC without its substantive chairman at a crucial juncture for Nigeria’s population-management and civil-registration agenda.