Atiku Slams Buhari Over Inability Of National Bureau of Statistics To Release Nigeria’s Unemployment Figures

Former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate for 2019, Atiku Abubakar has said Nigerians deserve to know the truth about unemployment figures in Nigeria.

The position of Atiku was made known in a statement released and made available to Naija News on Thursday by the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organization.

This comes in reaction to a statement by the Statistician General of the Federation, Mr. Yemi Kale, who explained to Nigerians why the National Bureau of Statistics has not been able to publish unemployment reports in the country.

“The Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation notes with dismay the testimony of the Statistician General of the Federation, Mr. Yemi Kale, that the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, is unable to release the annual unemployment report that it is mandated by law to produce, because the Buhari administration has not provided the NBS with he funds it needs to perform this essential service,” the statement said.

“Throughout the 16 years that the Peoples Democratic Party governed this nation, their various governments never took this route, but funded the NBS to perform its statutory duty.”

“We know for a fact that the Muhammadu Buhari administration is in a state of panic because of the unprecedented unemployment numbers in Nigeria and is desperate to hide that information from the public.”

“If the Buhari administration can afford ₦1.1 billion to fumigate the office of the National Security Adviser, if they can afford ₦3.5 million every month to feed Ibrahim El Zakzaky, then they can afford to release funds for the NBS to perform its statutory duty of releasing the nation’s job report.

“President Buhari promised to create three million jobs per annum during the 2015 Presidential campaign season, but has ended up losing over three million jobs every year since he was sworn in on May 29, 2015.

The statement also blamed the Buhari led administration for massive job loss by many Nigerians since it took over the leadership of the country.

“Since the Buhari administration came to being, 11 million Nigerians have lost their jobs and in December of 2017, the NBS under Yemi Kale, announced that 7.9 million Nigerians lost their jobs in the 21 months period under review.

“It is safe to draw the conclusion that if the NBS had been funded and able to release the now due 2018 job reports, the total figure of jobs lost under the present administration may climb higher than the present 11 million jobs.

“Thus, we can understand why this failed administration is desperate to cover that information up, however, the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation insists that Nigerians deserve to know the truth no matter how unpalatable it may be.