News
Akwa Ibom govt rejects NBS report on unemployment
The Akwa Ibom State government on Saturday described as unacceptable the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report on unemployment rate in the state.
The bureau had said in its second-quarter report released on Friday that 21,764,617 Nigerians were unemployed.
It added that Imo State topped the list of states with the highest rate of unemployment with 48.7 percent, followed by Akwa Ibom and Rivers with 45.2 percent and 43.7 percent respectively.
However, in a statement issued by the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Ini Ememobong, the state government said the NBS report called for serious scrutiny.
He said: “The attention of Akwa Ibom State government has been drawn to the ‘Labor Force Statistics: Unemployment and Underemployment Report’ by the National Bureau of Statistics, wherein it listed Akwa Ibom as the state with the second-highest unemployment rate in the country. This conclusion, which calls for serious scrutiny, is unbelievable.
“The reality on ground in our state is in contradistinction to the Bureau’s report.
READ ALSO: APC rejects creation of 39 new political wards in Akwa Ibom
“A juxtaposition of the said report with the reality of the existence and operation of the numerous industries in our state, the recruitment into the civil and public service, Public-Private Partnership initiatives, the award of direct Labour contracts, our airline, and general aviation businesses, qualitative cash support and interest-free loans to entrepreneurs, financial and input support to farmers; the obvious conclusion will confirm that indeed the current administration has created quality jobs in an unprecedented manner.
“This reality is not attempting to deny the existence of unemployment-which is a global phenomenon worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a responsible government, we intend to engage the National Bureau of Statistics, to ascertain the veracity of their processes and results, particularly, we will seek answers to the following questions:
“What was the sample size used in the survey? What was the spatial spread of the sample? What population figure did they use to obtain the percentage recorded for Akwa Ibom? What quality assurance mechanisms did they employ? What was the temporal spread of the data used in the analyses?”
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...