The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly criticized the recent report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), accusing the President Bola Tinubu-led government of fabricating the data to mislead Nigerians.
The NBS had recently announced that Nigeria’s economy had grown by 3.46% in the third quarter of 2024, suggesting a recovery from the economic reforms implemented by the current administration. The report highlighted that this growth was an improvement from the 2.54% recorded in the same quarter in 2023 and surpassed the 3.19% growth seen in the second quarter of 2024. The services sector was credited with driving the GDP growth.
However, the NLC has rejected these figures, with Chris Onyeka, the National Assistant General Secretary, dismissing the report as a “voodoo document.” He argued that the data did not align with the harsh economic realities that ordinary Nigerians are facing daily. Onyeka described the GDP growth figures as a “fabrication designed to deceive the public” and claimed that they were inconsistent with the worsening economic conditions.
“Unemployment is not decreasing in Nigeria when factories are closing down,” Onyeka stated. “It cannot be going down when there is increasing inventory and reduced consumer spending. If anything, unemployment is on the rise.”
Onyeka also questioned the methodology behind the NBS report, calling it a “figment of imagination concocted by people who want to manipulate the numbers.” He challenged the NBS to provide evidence of the sectors allegedly responsible for job creation.
“Once data does not reflect reality, it loses its relevance,” Onyeka added. “Unfortunately, the NBS has lost credibility with the data they continue to publish.”
He further questioned the claims of job creation, pointing to employers who are struggling with declining consumer spending and a slowdown in economic activity. “It doesn’t add up,” he said. “The truth is that the NBS has become a failed institution, much like INEC in the eyes of the public.”
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