As the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) struggles to fulfill its mandate and contribute to a data-driven, progressive, and economically viable country where statistics are indispensable for effective governance and development, it has been dogged by a litany of allegations, including data loss, waning trust, and general lack of belief in its data owing to interference by the political class among others.

This explains why stakeholders say that it is high time the bureau’s legal framework is subjected to a review to enhance its credibility and insulate it from political influence.

The call came as the outfit equally promised to build a stronger and more vibrant statistical system that would ensure the country’s economic development.

The NBS, at a two–day Southern States Stakeholders’ Workshop on “Production of National Strategy for Development of Statistics Phase Three,” in Uyo, Akwa Ibom, the outfit expressed the imperative of putting in place, a robust strategy to guide the growth and development of reliable data, which the country would rely on.

“Over the past couple of months, the NBS, in line with its role and position as the coordinator of the statistical system in Nigeria has been working tirelessly on the process of developing a new National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) in Nigeria,” the Statistician-General of the Federation, Mr. Adeyemi Adeniran, said at the workshop.

“Statistics, often hailed as the ‘silent language of governance,’ form the bedrock of an informed and thriving society. They guide policy formulation, resource allocation, and progress evaluation.

“As we convene today for this crucial task, let us recognise that statistics go beyond mere numbers; they articulate the narrative of the situation in society, inform decisions, policies, and programmes, and pave the way for a brighter future,” he said.

Adeniran continued: “The accuracy and quality of our statistics are paramount. We must continuously strive for excellence in data collection, analysis, and dissemination to maintain the trust and confidence of our data users and policymakers.

“The quality of the output, the soundness of methodology and processes, and the robustness of our data sources are extremely vital and require due attention under this new strategy. We will continue to work together to build a stronger and more vibrant statistical system that is capable and well-resourced to produce and facilitate the use of data in our progress toward sustainable development.

“By doing so, we will fulfill our mandate and contribute to a data-driven, progressive, and economically viable Nigeria that works for the benefit of all our citizens,” Adeniran said.

However, stakeholders are of the view that it was imperative to modernise states’ and national statistical systems to reflect the internationally recognised framework, especially in light of posers that have trailed data released by the NBS.

The latest in the series is the release of the country’s unemployment rate, which shows a decline in unemployment, despite a visible rise in unemployment in the second quarter of 2023.

This was viewed as an attempt at manipulating the unemployment rate to cover up the inability of the state to perform its responsibilities to the economy and Nigerians.

Figures released by the NBS showed a significant drop from the 33.3 per cent for Q4 2020, released in March 2021, and suggested that Nigeria is now comparable to America with an unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent, and Britain (4.2 per cent) despite a very high poverty rate.

In a community language, the bureau had used the idea that anybody who earns N1,000 a week is in employment against the old method, which categorised the unemployed as anyone of working age who worked below 20 hours or did not work, but searched and was available in the reference week (the week NBS is carrying out the survey).

Under the new NBS methodology, anyone who has not worked in the past seven days, has been looking for work in the past four weeks, and is ready to start work is considered unemployed.

This means that some people who were previously classified as unemployed are now categorised as employed.This is because the new methodology does not require people to have worked for at least 20 hours per week to be considered employed.

Consequently, people who are working in the informal sector, or who are only able to find part-time work, are now classified as employed.
Expectedly, this development has received immense criticism leading to suggestions to further avert what is perceived as political influence on the bureau.

The former Statistician-General, Dr Yemi Kale, had condemned the recapitulation method employed by Adeniran, the current statistician general, saying that he resisted the attempt to employ the same method during his days in the office.

He said he declined to change the country’s unemployment data-gathering methodology because it contradicted the system that the country operates.
Reacting to the unemployment data published under his watch, Kale said that during his time at the NBS, the committee in charge of reviewing the minimum number of work hours to count as employed, felt that one hour did not make sense because the income generated within that time frame was not necessarily livable.

According to him, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration forced him to publish false economic statistics, which he declined. These revelations put into question the reliability and integrity of the figures churned out by the government institution.

It also raised questions about the need to safeguard the independence of the NBS and the integrity of its data through a legal framework. However, Adeniran, the statistician general and the Chief Executive Officer of the NBS found nothing wrong in the new methodology as he defended the figures.

He explained: “We are not saying that it dropped from 33.3 per cent to 4.1 per cent because if you say that, it means that there has been some improvement in the economy that absorbed people that made unemployment go down. It’s not that.

“Before, the working age population was between 15 and 64 years, whereas it was only in Nigeria we were using that, and maybe in one or two other countries. But all our neighboring countries like Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, and Cameroon, are not using that. That is an old standard that is set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention, which Nigeria is a signatory to.

“We came to the reality that people work after the age of 64, and they contribute immensely to the economy of the country. We are saying that all the contributions of those people above age 64 are not captured as being employed. So, we came together and said, “This can no longer be sustained.”

He stated that about 26 other African countries have already adopted that new methodology, insisting that Nigeria is even coming behind in adopting it.

According to him, what is obtainable now is 15 years and above. The calculation, he said, is based on those in the labour force, who are active and willing to work with proper qualifications and what sectors are needed to be encouraged to take in more personnel.

“The labour force would then be calculated by taking into consideration employed persons who work for an hour plus within the last seven days for pay or profit.

“The employed, who are also temporarily absent, and also the unemployed who are available and searching for jobs are taken into consideration. According to an Abuja-based lawyer, Monday Ikpe, a law should be made to hold officials accountable for statistical fraud and sanctioned when convicted.

He also suggested that there should be a national awareness campaign about the damaging effect of statistical fraud on planning and development. Ikpe stated that the proposed law must forbid the statistician-general or any statistical agent to fake or change statistics, failure of which the fellow would be sanctioned accordingly.

Also reacting to the development, Joseph Akanu, a lawyer, agreed that the NBS Act needs to be altered to provide for sanctions for proven infractions.

According to him, the NBS should be granted more autonomy, such that the appointment of its officials would be more public-driven, transparent, and persons of competence and integrity.

“The Statistics Act of 2007 should be rejigged to accommodate more issues that may grant the bureau better-working autonomy,” he suggested.
Expressing the same thought, an Abuja-based lawyer, Ekengba Felix said that the Statistics Act 2007 should be amended by the National Assembly to impose stiffer punishment on any staff of the NBS who churns out questionable statistics to the nation.

Felix believes that such an amendment would deter NBS staff who incline to beat the system and make them understand that there is a danger of going to prison upon conviction when they pander to the whims of the political class in the discharge of their duties.

Similarly, Paul Mgbeoma, a lawyer, who agreed with the idea of legislative deterrence, emphasised the need for accurate statistics to help the government in proper policy formulation. He, therefore, called for proper funding of the bureau.

Interestingly, the Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on National Planning and Economic Development, Eze Emeka Kenneth, and his colleague, Ibrahim Isiaka have expressed the readiness of the National Assembly to speedily amend the law establishing the NBS to give it the autonomy that it deserves.

A counterpart of theirs in the Senate also aligned himself with the idea, pledging support for the removal of all factors militating against the smooth operation of the bureau.They spoke at the National Stakeholders’ Workshop on The Production of National Strategy for Development of Statistics (NSDS) Phase III 2023 -2028, which the NBS organised in Abuja.