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| * Comrade Ini Ememobong |
By Grace Akpan in Uyo
Akwa Ibom State Government has raised contention over the unemployment level of the state as published in the ‘Labor Force Statistics" on Unemployment and Underemployment Report’ by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
This was made known by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Comrade Ini Ememobong in a Release issued Saturday 15th August, and made available to the media community in Uyo, the State capital.
Comrade Ini Ememobong who said, the attention of Government was drawn to the report by NBS reiterated that, listing Akwa Ibom as the second state with highest unemployment rate in the country was unbelievable and called for serious scrutiny.
The Information helmsman stated that, the reality on ground is in contradistinction to the Bureau’s report when juxtaposed of the with the existence and operation of the numerous industries now in the state, the recruitment into the civil and public service, the Public Private Partnership initiatives as well as the award of direct Labour contracts.
He further enlisted the Ibom airline and the general aviation businesses, qualitative cash support and interest free loans to entrepreneurs, financial and input support to farmers, all avenues of employment Emphasizing that, these much confirmed that the current administration has created quality jobs in an unprecedented manner.
Acknowledging that, though there is existence of unemployment-which is a global phenomenon worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Comrade Ememobong said the state government intends to engage the National Bureau of Statistics to ascertain the veracity of their processes and results.
The State Spokesman emphasized that, Akwa Ibom State Government will particularly seek answers to such questions as: What was the sample size used in the survey, What was the spatial spread of the sample, What population figure did NBS use to obtain the percentage recorded for Akwa Ibom, What quality assurance mechanisms did the Bureau employ, What was the temporal spread of the data used in the analysis and lastly, in order to ensure trust and confidence in statistical output, with which agency of the state government was the data source authentication done.
Noting that it is common knowledge that unemployment has its permanent corollary, a spike in crime, increased youth restive Ness, among others, the Information Commissioner stressed that, citizens, security agencies and guests alike, agree without any doubt, that Akwa Ibom is Nigeria’s safest state.
He therefore wondered how a state can be the safest, witnessing influx of industries and other economic activities, purveyed by local cum foreign investors will still be the second largest unemployment percentage.
The role of data in a survey is to reflect the existing reality, not to project the imaginary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, concluded.
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