World Bank has disputed Nigeria's employment statistics - Ngige

The World Bank has questioned the methodology employed the National Bureau of Statistics to generate its employment statistics.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige revealed this on Wednesday during while receiving the leadership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) in his office.

According to the NBS, in a report released in March, the country’s unemployment rate rose from 27.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 to 33.3 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Ngige said the Federal Government will meet virtually with World Bank representatives on Thursday to discuss the modalities of the NBS’s data gathering.

“We have a virtual meeting of the National Economic Advisory Council with the World Bank to look at Nigeria’s modalities for employment statistics data collection,” Ngige said, according to a statement signed by spokesman Charles Akpan.

“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.”

Ngige, who described the meeting as very important, recalled that he had severally queried the employment statistics released by the NBS.

Labour laws

Regarding the review of labour laws in the country, the Minister said “progress has been made and it is now at the validation stage” and expressed gratitude to CIPM for being part of the process

“On your request to play a more active role, it is the more, the merrier. We will be happy to have you onboard, as you are part and parcel of our Ministry. The institute has grown and will continue to grow. For us in the Ministry, our doors remain open whenever you want us to assist.”

Ngige accepted the offer from the CIPM for his induction into the institute in recognition of his competence and frontline position in managing labour and industrial relations in the country.

Earlier, the President of CIPM, Wale Adeniran told the Minister that they came to celebrate him for his role in managing the industrial crisis, which enables the economy to run.

Adeniran requested the presence of the Minister as the Special Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker in the CIPM Fellow’s Awards and Human Resources Recognition Ceremonies, billed for Thursday in Abuja.