The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Dr Aminu Yusuf, has died, eight months after he was appointed to lead the commission.
Yusuf reportedly died on Friday, August 28, 2026. Sources close to his family confirmed his death, although the cause was not immediately known.
A Presidency source also confirmed the development, while the NPC and Yusuf’s family had yet to issue an official statement or announce burial arrangements as of Saturday morning.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Yusuf as chairman of the commission in 2025, and he was sworn into office in December alongside other newly appointed commissioners.
His death comes weeks after the NPC launched the nationwide digital registration of births and deaths under its Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system.
The commission announced that its digital registration platform, VitalReg, became fully operational nationwide on July 1, 2026. The initiative was part of efforts to modernise Nigeria’s civil registration system and improve access to vital statistics.
Yusuf was also involved in the commission’s advocacy activities during his brief tenure. In January, he led senior NPC officials to the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, where he sought the support of traditional institutions in promoting population awareness and civil registration.
The NPC chairman was born on April 15, 1960, in Wushishi, Niger State. He attended LEA Primary School, Zungeru, and Federal Government College, Odogbolu, Ogun State.
His career included work in education, grassroots mobilisation, politics, governance and community development.
Between 2019 and 2023, Yusuf served as Special Adviser on Political Affairs to the Governor of Niger State. He was also involved in the 2022 Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign as Assistant Director, Grassroots Mobilisation (North Central) of the Presidential Campaign Council.
Before his appointment to the NPC, Yusuf served as National President of the Niger State College of Education Alumni Association, Minna.
The NPC also credited him with supporting skills acquisition and empowerment programmes for women and young people in Niger North Senatorial District.
As chairman, Yusuf pledged to strengthen the commission and improve the quality of demographic data available for national planning and policymaking.
His death is expected to lead to a leadership transition at the commission, which is responsible for producing population and demographic data used in planning, policy formulation and development programmes.
