The National Bureau of Statistics late on Monday night released the country’s labour statistics for the fourth quarter of 2015 with the report putting the country’s unemployment rate at 10.4 per cent.
The Bureau in the report which was made available to our correspondent at about 10:32pm explained that the 10.4 per cent in unemployment rate for the fourth quarter was an increase of 500 basis point over the 9.9 per cent recorded in third quarter of 2015.
It said as was the case in previous quarters, unemployment and underemployment was higher for women than men in the fourth quarter of 2015.
For instance, the report stated that while 12.3 per cent of women in the labour force (those between 15‐65 willing, able and actively working or searching for work) were unemployed in Q4 2015, another 22.0 per cent of women in the labour force were underemployed in Q4 2015.
On the other hand, 8.8 per cent of males were unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2015, while another 15.7 per cent of males in the labour force were underemployed during the same period.
It said Nigeria with an unemployment rate of 10.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015 has a better unemployment rate than reported in 66 countries but worse than 111 countries, including 23 African countries which have unemployment rates lower than 10.4 per cent.
The report reads in part, “Unemployment is not just a Nigerian problem. The International Labour Organisation on whose recommendation most countries in the world unemployment methodology is based including Nigeria, states that 201 million people globally are unemployed and this may rise to 219 million by 2019.
“With eight million Nigerians technically unemployed (not including the remaining 14.4mn underemployed), this means four per cent of the worlds unemployed are Nigerians.
“If we add the number of underemployed in Nigeria (though other countries and the ILO methodology do not add this to unemployment and keep these numbers separate like we now do in Nigeria) in the interest of seeking full time and gainful employment for Nigerians, then Nigeria will represent about 14 per cent of global unemployment.”
PUNCH
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
NNPC withheld $25bn from Nigeria over five years
Nigeria's state-owned oil company has failed to pay the government $25bn (£17.5bn) over five years, the nation's fiscal commission has said.
It includes $15bn that the nation's auditor general last week said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to pay in 2014 alone.
Oil revenue accounts for roughly two-thirds of the government's funding.
President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to crack down on corruption since coming to office last May.
In a statement, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), an independent body, said: "Records at the Commission's disposal indicate that between January 2011 and December 2015, the total indebtedness of NNPC to the Federation Account was 4.9 trillion naira."
Previous allegations
Under the current set-up, the NNPC hands over its oil revenue and money is then paid back based on a budget approved by parliament.
The state oil giant has been mired in corruption allegations and losing money for many years.
Last month, the government announced that the NNPC would be broken up into seven different companies.
A separate audit ordered under former President Goodluck Jonathan and carried out by global accountancy firm PwC, found that the NNPC had failed to pay the government $1.48bn between January 2012 and July 2013.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, but the economy has suffered because of the recent decline in the price of oil.
BBC
Related stories: NNPC did not pay Nigeria government $16bn in oil revenue
Former Nigeria Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi comments on audit that proves missing $18.5 billion
Video - Sanusi Lamido's TEDx speech - Overcoming the fear of vested interest
It includes $15bn that the nation's auditor general last week said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to pay in 2014 alone.
Oil revenue accounts for roughly two-thirds of the government's funding.
President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to crack down on corruption since coming to office last May.
In a statement, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), an independent body, said: "Records at the Commission's disposal indicate that between January 2011 and December 2015, the total indebtedness of NNPC to the Federation Account was 4.9 trillion naira."
Previous allegations
Under the current set-up, the NNPC hands over its oil revenue and money is then paid back based on a budget approved by parliament.
The state oil giant has been mired in corruption allegations and losing money for many years.
Last month, the government announced that the NNPC would be broken up into seven different companies.
A separate audit ordered under former President Goodluck Jonathan and carried out by global accountancy firm PwC, found that the NNPC had failed to pay the government $1.48bn between January 2012 and July 2013.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, but the economy has suffered because of the recent decline in the price of oil.
BBC
Related stories: NNPC did not pay Nigeria government $16bn in oil revenue
Former Nigeria Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi comments on audit that proves missing $18.5 billion
Video - Sanusi Lamido's TEDx speech - Overcoming the fear of vested interest
Monday, March 21, 2016
Video - Information minister Lai Muhammed says Nigeria is 'on top' of security problem
Information minister tells Al Jazeera's Nick Clark that country's armed forces have decimated Boko Haram's ability to launch big attacks.
Video - Number of lions in Nigeria in sharp decline
There has been a sharp decline in the population of lions in Africa, and particularly west Africa. In Nigeria for instance the number of lions is declining fast according to the country's interior ministry. The country officially had 44 lions in 2009 and now only 34 lions remain.
European Union to lift Ban on importing beans from Nigeria
Indications have emerged that the ban on exportation of beans produce to the European Union countries, EU, imposed on Nigeria by the European Food Safety Authority, will be lifted by June this year.
The development came weekend following the visit of a EU / Dutch team to the Central Laboratory of the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, in Lagos.
The team was in the country to inspect the procedures of the regulatory agency to ensure that future export of beans and other agricultural produce from Nigeria meet the standards of importing countries.
The European Food Safety Authority had in mid-2015 banned some agricultural produce which included beans from Nigeria, citing that the rejected beans were found to contain between 0.03mg per kilogramme to 4.6mg/kg of dichlorvos pesticide, when the acceptable maximum residue limit is 0.01mg/kg.
Speaking during the visit, the Acting Director General, NAFDAC, Mrs. Yetunde Oni noted that the ban has no doubt resulted in a huge economic loss to Nigeria; although she insisted that the beans which resulted in the ban were smuggled out of the country and did not pass through her agency.
“The ban was placed about a year ago due to high insecticide residue in beans but let me sound a note of caution here that the beans that were rejected never passed through NAFDAC, they were beans produce smuggled out of the country.
“The ban has brought about a huge economic loss in the sense that Nigeria has large expanse of land, we have a lot of farmers that produce beans and the beans are not able to go out.”
She reiterated that agricultural produce that passes through the agency never gets rejected because of the rigorous process it goes through before certification.
Vanguard
The development came weekend following the visit of a EU / Dutch team to the Central Laboratory of the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, in Lagos.
The team was in the country to inspect the procedures of the regulatory agency to ensure that future export of beans and other agricultural produce from Nigeria meet the standards of importing countries.
The European Food Safety Authority had in mid-2015 banned some agricultural produce which included beans from Nigeria, citing that the rejected beans were found to contain between 0.03mg per kilogramme to 4.6mg/kg of dichlorvos pesticide, when the acceptable maximum residue limit is 0.01mg/kg.
Speaking during the visit, the Acting Director General, NAFDAC, Mrs. Yetunde Oni noted that the ban has no doubt resulted in a huge economic loss to Nigeria; although she insisted that the beans which resulted in the ban were smuggled out of the country and did not pass through her agency.
“The ban was placed about a year ago due to high insecticide residue in beans but let me sound a note of caution here that the beans that were rejected never passed through NAFDAC, they were beans produce smuggled out of the country.
“The ban has brought about a huge economic loss in the sense that Nigeria has large expanse of land, we have a lot of farmers that produce beans and the beans are not able to go out.”
She reiterated that agricultural produce that passes through the agency never gets rejected because of the rigorous process it goes through before certification.
Vanguard
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