It's His Opinion": FG Disowns Spokesman Over Attacks on Ex-NBS Boss, Statistician-General on Live TV

• The National Bureau of Statistics has dissociated itself from the attacks on its boss, Yemi Kale, on live TV
• Wakili Ibrahim had, during the interview, called Kale the worst Statistician-General Nigeria ever had
• The development follows Kale's comments faulting the NBS employment methodology

The National Bureau of Statistics has disowned its spokesman and the Director of Communications and Public Department of the Bureau, Wakili Ibrahim, over attacks against the former Statistician-General and CEO of NBS, Yemi Kale.

The Bureau said in a statement released on X, formerly Twitter that the views expressed by Ibrahim are his and do not represent the Bureau's stance.

NBS distances self from Wakili Ibrahim

The Bureau, in the disclaimer, revealed that it wishes to dissociate from its spokesman's comments.

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Ibrahim had during an interview on Arise TV called Kale the worst Statistician-General Nigeria has ever had.

The development follows a debate between Kale and Ibrahim over new employment data released by NBS recently.

Former NBS boss attacks employment methodology

Legit.ng reported that Kale spoke almost one week after the NBS issued new data, putting employment in Nigeria at 4.1%.

According to Kale, the committee reviewing the minimum number of hours regarded as employed felt that it needed to make more sense because income earned at the timeframe was not livable.

Kale spoke on Arise TV's Global Business Morning Report on Monday, August 28, 2023.

The former NBS boss said that income generated from 20 hours of work in Nigeria would equal the one made from working one hour in the US.

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The Chief Economist at KPMG said that the most important thing is to provide the government and policymakers with the tools necessary to understand problems, provide solutions, and monitor the impact of the issues.

He revealed that under him, 20 hours was decided on because it agreed that in working that long, you might generate enough income that could equate to what working an hour in the US is.

One hour job means employment: NBS readjust employment data

The ex-NBS CEO said that unemployment figures from the NBS have always aligned with the international benchmark, explaining that one-hour work made sense in many countries that asked for the new standard.

Kale said that the International Labour Organisation has developed a base guideline, and countries can adjust it to suit their needs.

Under him, NBS defined unemployment as anything above 40 houses and more because the Nigerian Policymakers promised Nigerians full-time employment and needed to understand if they were performing based on that.

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The comments infuriated Ibrahim, who said nothing worked under Kale while he was NBS boss.

"It doesn't make Sense": Former NBS boss faults new employment Report

Legit.ng reported Nigeria’s unemployment rate has dropped to 4.1% for the first quarter of 2023 from 5.3 percent recorded in the previous quarter.

This was disclosed in the latest report titled Nigeria’s Labour Force Survey (NLFS) prepared by the National Bureau of Statistics, World Bank and International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) released on Thursday, August 24, 2023.

The new unemployment figure represents a huge drop from the unemployment rate at 33.3 percent reported in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Source: Legit.ng