The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has assured Nigerians that the federal government was doing everything possible to stem job loses, while creating new ones in 2018.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently said that about four million Nigerians lost their jobs in 2017, an information that has led to wide criticism of the Buhari led APC government that promised to create three million jobs per annum.
In his new year message, Ngige asked Nigerians not to worry over the recent statistics on job losses released by the National Bureau of Statistics(NBC) as the development is effectively modulated by a similar release by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) which indicates over a Seven Million job growth in the Agricultural sector during the year.
He said: “I wish to assure Nigerians that 2018 will not be as bleak as 2017 in terms of job losses as the Federal Government has put enough checks to forestall a repeat of what was encountered in 2017.
“As a matter of fact, the figure released by the NBC must be placed alongside statistics by the Central Bank of Nigeria which shows that over seven Million jobs have been created in the Agricultural Sector. This is the only way to arrive at a balanced job situation in the country”.
He said the Federal Government will work harder in the new Year to create more jobs and sustain the current efforts at protecting the existing ones, saying “We shall continue to maintain our principled stand against retrenchment and encourage the state governments to do same,” Ngige stated
