Unemployment in Nigeria has fallen to about five per cent under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, according to the Director-General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Comrade Issa Aremu.
Aremu made the claim during an interview on Arise TV’s Morning Show, where he discussed the government’s record on employment, labour issues and pension payments.
He said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), using the methodology of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), now places Nigeria’s official unemployment rate at about five per cent.
According to Aremu, the figure represents a significant decline from the double-digit unemployment rates previously recorded and reflects increased economic activity in both the public and private sectors.
“Today unemployment is about 5% officially. And that’s quite remarkable. You discover that unemployment dropped compared to what it used to be in double digits, which means there’s an increasing level of activity and employment, both in public and private sectors,” he said.
Aremu also pointed to developments in the downstream petroleum sector, saying the emergence of modular refineries was creating additional employment opportunities.
He said the manufacturing sector was also showing prospects for increased job creation, although he stressed that sustainable industrial development would depend heavily on resolving Nigeria’s energy challenges.
“You can’t have sustainable industrialisation without electrification,” he said.
The labour leader further noted that some industries were increasingly adopting backward integration by sourcing raw materials locally, partly because of exchange-rate pressures. He said this was also creating employment opportunities within the domestic supply chain.
According to Aremu, creating sustainable jobs must be an intentional policy objective, with state governments playing an important role through appropriate industrial policies.
He also welcomed the growing emphasis on the “Nigerian First” policy, saying it could support local production and economic activity.
Aremu Commends N758bn Pension Intervention
On pensions, Aremu praised the Federal Government for a N758 billion intervention bond aimed at settling inherited pension liabilities dating back to 2007.
He said the payment had benefited 957,045 pensioners and other beneficiaries across the country.
Aremu, who also serves as a member of the presidential campaign council, said issues surrounding secure employment, living wages and pension payments would be important considerations ahead of the next election.
He challenged major political candidates to present their records on decent and secure employment rather than making promises without evidence of performance.
The labour leader said the Tinubu administration had implemented reforms aimed at retaining and expanding jobs in the public sector, contrasting this with mass retrenchment and downsizing associated with some previous reform programmes.
He called for an economic recovery strategy driven by jobs and wages and urged organised labour to continue engaging the government through negotiations over workers’ pay.
“Job and wage-led economic recovery” should be the focus, he said.
Aremu also commended the Tinubu administration for initiating two minimum wage reviews within three years, describing the development as part of the government’s response to workers’ concerns.
