The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has criticized the recent unemployment report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), claiming it does not reflect the country’s economic realities.
The NBS had reported a decline in Nigeria’s unemployment rate to 4.3% in the second quarter of 2024, down from 5.3% in Q1 2024 and 5.0% in Q3 2023, suggesting an improvement in the labor market.
However, in an interview with The Punch, NLC’s National Assistant General Secretary, Chris Onyeka, dismissed the report as a “voodoo document” that misrepresents the true situation faced by Nigerians.
Onyeka rejected the claim of declining unemployment, describing the statistics as “fabricated” and misleading. He argued that it is impossible for unemployment to decrease when many factories and businesses are closing down across the country.
“Unemployment cannot be falling when factories are shutting down. It can’t be declining when inventory is increasing and consumer spending is dropping. In reality, unemployment is rising,” Onyeka said.
He also questioned the methodology of the NBS report, calling it a “figment of imagination” created by those trying to manipulate the data. According to Onyeka, the disconnection between the statistics and the visible economic challenges in the country undermines the credibility of the NBS.
“Data that doesn’t reflect reality becomes irrelevant. Sadly, the NBS has lost its credibility due to the misleading figures they continue to release,” he added.
Onyeka challenged the NBS to provide evidence of the sectors that are supposedly creating jobs, asking, “Where are these jobs coming from? Are they from businesses that are facing slow economic activity and consumer resistance? It just doesn’t make sense.”
He compared the situation to what he called “INEC-style manipulation,” suggesting that just as Nigerians question the credibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), they now view the NBS in a similar light.
“People can go to court if they don’t like the figures, but the truth remains: the NBS has become a failed institution, much like INEC in the eyes of the public,” Onyeka concluded.