TheCable Fact Check
  • Home
  • Fact Check
  • Fake News
  • Check Am For Wazobia
Reading: FACT CHECK: Can 85m Nigerians lose their jobs as claimed by minister of science?
Share
Latest News
MISINFO ALERT: Video of man shot by operative over ‘N5k bribe’ is from 2019, says customs
How to protect yourself from misinformation, disinformation in the AI age
FACT CHECK: Did Ibrahim Traore cancel Burna Boy’s proposed Burkina Faso concert?
CableCheck wins IFCN global fact check fund
Íhé ńgósị́ ébé Peter Obi sékpù àlà n’íhú Tinubu bụ̀ ǹkè é jìrì AI nwóghàrị̀á
Hoton Peter Obi ya durkusa ma Tinubu a Rome na hadi ne
Foto wey show as Peter Obi dey kneel down for Tinubu inside Vatican na photoshop
Peter Obi kò kúnlẹ̀ fún Tinubu ní Rome
Advertisement
Aa
TheCable Fact CheckTheCable Fact Check
Search
  • Home
  • Fact Check
  • Fake News
  • Check Am For Wazobia
Follow US

FACT CHECK: Can 85m Nigerians lose their jobs as claimed by minister of science?

Aderemi Ojekunle
By Aderemi Ojekunle Published July 28, 2021 4 Min Read
Share

On Monday, Mohammed Abdullahi, minister of state for science and technology, said 85 million Nigerians are on the verge of losing their jobs due to a lack of digital knowledge and skills.

Contents
WHAT THE UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURE SAYSHOW MANY PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED?VERDICT: IF ‘ALL NIGERIANS’ LOSE THEIR JOBS

Speaking at the launch of Generation Unlimited Nigeria (GUN), Abdullahi said his ministry is leveraging on existing structures at its disposal with a mission to incubate young people and get them ready for the labour market.

The GUN, an initiative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is a global platform bringing together government, multi-sectorial institutions, the private sector and young people to support 20 million young Nigerians within 10 to 24 and 35 years to get jobs by 2030. 

Nigeria’s population is currently mapped above 200 million, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations (UN) data. The National Population Commission (NPC) also uses the UN data for reference on population statistics – as it houses outdated census figures of 2006.

From the population figure, the junior minister means that 42.5 percent of the overall population can lose their jobs due to the lack of digital skills. The implication of his statement also means that almost half of the population are in the labour force or active working population –- at 85 million.

WHAT THE UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURE SAYS

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s unemployment rate hit a record high at 33.3 percent in 2020. The government agency had said 23.18 million persons in Nigeria either did nothing or worked for less than 20 hours a week.

Unemployment occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work.

In simpler terms, the unemployment rate is calculated as a percentage of the number of unemployed persons in the labour force.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED?

Using the country’s current labour force statistics released by the NBS in March 2021, the overall labour force population stood at 69,675,468 (69.68 million) in Q4 2020.

The Labour force are people within ages 15 -64 who are able and willing to work, according to NBS, which employs the International Labour Organisation (ILO) standard.

Furthermore, the NBS said only 57.09 percent of the total economically active population are in the labour force. The statistical agency also estimated the number of persons in the economically active or working-age population (15 – 64 years of age) to be 122.05 million (122,049,400) as of 2020.

This means that only 69.7 million Nigerians were able and willing to work. Of this number, 23.2 million were unable to find a job, therefore, they are considered unemployed. This means 46.5 million (69.7 million minus 23.2 million) Nigerians are currently employed. 

VERDICT: IF ‘ALL NIGERIANS’ LOSE THEIR JOBS

The minister’s claim of 85 million Nigerians in the employment market is inaccurate. 

According to the NBS, 46.5 million Nigerians are employed. If all Nigerians who are employed lose their jobs, the minister’s claim will still be incorrect. Nigeria does not have up to 85 million employed persons.

Also, Nigeria’s statistical office says only 69.68 million people are currently available for employment in Nigeria – as against the minister’s claim. 

It is also statistically wrong to put nearly half of the population into the labour force.

TAGGED: ILO, jobs, Mohammed Abdullahi, NBS, nigeria

Please send your feedback, claims to fact check and corrections requests to [email protected]

Aderemi Ojekunle July 28, 2021 July 28, 2021
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

POPULAR POSTS

Advertisement

MISINFO ALERT: Video of man shot by operative over ‘N5k bribe’ is from 2019, says customs

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reacted to a viral video showing its operatives implicated…

June 5, 2025

How to protect yourself from misinformation, disinformation in the AI age

The internet has made life somewhat easier, right? You want to read the news and…

June 4, 2025

FACT CHECK: Did Ibrahim Traore cancel Burna Boy’s proposed Burkina Faso concert?

There are reports that Ibrahim Traore, Burkina Faso’s military leader, has cancelled Afrofusion star Burna…

June 3, 2025

CableCheck wins IFCN global fact check fund

CableCheck, the fact-checking initiative of the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF), has been awarded the…

May 30, 2025
Advertisement
Advertisement

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

MISINFO ALERT: Video of man shot by operative over ‘N5k bribe’ is from 2019, says customs

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reacted to a viral video showing its operatives implicated in the shooting of a…

Exclusives & FeaturesFact Check
June 5, 2025

How to protect yourself from misinformation, disinformation in the AI age

The internet has made life somewhat easier, right? You want to read the news and keep abreast of happenings around…

Fact CheckTop Stories
June 4, 2025

FACT CHECK: Did Ibrahim Traore cancel Burna Boy’s proposed Burkina Faso concert?

There are reports that Ibrahim Traore, Burkina Faso’s military leader, has cancelled Afrofusion star Burna Boy's free concert in the…

Fact Check
June 3, 2025

CableCheck wins IFCN global fact check fund

CableCheck, the fact-checking initiative of the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF), has been awarded the BUILD 2025 grant by the…

Fact CheckTop Stories
May 30, 2025

CableCheck seeks to provide reliable tools and resources for readers to tackle the menace of fake and misleading materials constantly pushed into the public space from various sources. We monitor the accuracy of claims made in traditional and social media. We also provide a tracker to hold politicians and policymakers accountable for the plans and promises they make to the public. CableCheck is a project of the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF), supported by the MacArthur Foundation and implemented by TheCable newspaper.

Follow US: 

LINKS

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Non-Partisanship Policy
  • Funding
  • Correction Policy
© Copyright TheCable. All Rights reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?