The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has criticized the latest unemployment report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), claiming it does not align with the country’s economic realities.

According to reports, the NBS recently 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, signaling what it described as improved labour market conditions.

Reacting to the report in an interview with The Punch, the NLC’s National Assistant General Secretary, Chris Onyeka, dismissed it as a “voodoo document” that fails to capture the harsh realities faced by Nigerians.

Onyeka rejected the notion of declining unemployment, calling the statistics a “fabrication meant to mislead the public.” He argued that it is implausible for unemployment to be dropping while numerous factories and businesses are shutting down across the country.

He said, “Unemployment cannot be coming down in Nigeria when factories are closing shops.

“It cannot be coming down when there is increasing inventory and reduced consumer spending. If anything, unemployment is increasing.”

He further questioned the methodology behind the NBS report, describing it as a “figment of imagination concocted by people who want to manipulate figures.”

According to Onyeka, the lack of alignment between the data and visible realities on the ground undermines the credibility of the statistics agency.

“Once data does not reflect reality, it loses relevance. Unfortunately, the NBS has lost credibility as a result of the data they continue spewing out,” he stated.

Onyeka challenged the NBS to substantiate its claims by identifying the sectors supposedly generating jobs. “Where are the jobs coming from? Is it from employers who are complaining of consumer resistance and slowing economic activities? It doesn’t add up,” he remarked.

He likened the situation to what he described as “INEC-style manipulation,” a term he used to draw parallels between perceived shortcomings in Nigeria’s election management and the NBS figures.

“Nigerians 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.