Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has cast doubts on the authenticity, methodology and modalities used to retrieve the data churned quarterly by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS, in a report released in March, the country’s unemployment rate rose from 27.1 percent in the second quarter of 2020 to 33.3 percent in the fourth quarter.
But Ngige disputed the data, noting that the Federal Government will meet virtually with World Bank representatives on Thursday to discus the modalities of the NBS’s data gathering.
The Minister who spoke while receiving the leadership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) in his office said “there has been a little confusion there as to the accuracy of data generated by the NBS. So, we want to align everything tomorrow. The World Bank says the NBS methodology doesn’t conform with the global standard, especially the ILO format of arriving at such Employment Index.”
Responding, the National Bureau of Statistics took to social media platform Twitter on Friday to drag the Ngige for faulting its employment statistics.
Tweeting via its official handle, @nigerianstat, the NBS said contrary to the claim by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, the Bureau’s methodology for measuring the rate of unemployment in the country conforms with global standards.
On claims by Ngige that “the World Bank doubts if NBS methodology conform with the global standard, especially the ILO (International Labour Organisation) format of arriving at such Employment Index,” the NBS said:
“The World Bank has denied making any such statement and rather together with the economic advisory committee affirmed its confidence, commendation, support and close working relationship with NBS. The World Bank can be contacted if in doubt.”
