NPC Chairman Is Dead 8 Months After Assuming Office

The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Dr Aminu Yusuf, has died barely eight months after assuming office.

Yusuf reportedly died on Friday, August 28, 2026, following a brief illness.

News of his death emerged in Minna, the Niger State capital, around the time of the Juma’at prayer, reportedly sending shock waves across his family, associates and political circles.

His Special Adviser on Media, Stanley Nwosu, confirmed the development.

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

A high-level Presidency source also confirmed the death, while sources close to the family said details surrounding his illness were not immediately available.

Neither the NPC nor the family had issued a formal statement on the circumstances of his death or announced burial arrangements as of the time of filing this report.

Yusuf was appointed by President Bola Tinubu and sworn in as Chairman of the NPC in December 2025 alongside two other members of the commission, Dr Joseph Haruna Kigbu and Tonga Betara Bulatafa.

His death comes at a critical period for the commission, which is responsible for generating population and demographic data used for national planning, policy formulation and development programmes.

During his relatively short tenure, Yusuf was involved in efforts to reform Nigeria’s civil registration and vital statistics system, including the acceleration of its digital transformation.

One of the major initiatives under his leadership was the nationwide rollout of the VitalReg digital birth and death registration platform under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system.

The NPC announced that the platform became fully operational nationwide on July 1, 2026, barely two months before his death.

Yusuf also remained active in population advocacy programmes until his death.

In January 2026, he led senior officials of the commission to the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, where he sought the support of traditional institutions in promoting awareness of population issues and encouraging civil registration.

Born on April 15, 1960, in Wushishi, Niger State, Yusuf attended LEA Primary School, Zungeru, before proceeding to Federal Government College, Odogbolu, Ogun State.

He later ventured into public service, grassroots mobilisation and politics, serving as Special Adviser on Political Affairs to the Niger State Governor between 2019 and 2023.

He was also involved in the Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign and served in 2022 as Assistant Director, Grassroots Mobilisation (North Central), of the Presidential Campaign Council.

Before his appointment to the NPC, Yusuf was the National President of the Niger State College of Education Alumni Association, Minna.

He was also associated with skills acquisition and empowerment programmes targeting women and youths in the Niger North Senatorial District.

Yusuf’s death is expected to prompt a leadership transition at the population commission at a time when it is implementing reforms aimed at improving the availability and reliability of demographic and civil registration data.