NBS set to release unemployment data in May Nigeria positioned to become superpower in energy transition – NUPRC

From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The National Bureau of Statistics says it will publish the new unemployment and employment figures for the country before the end of May 2023.

The bureau said this in its “Nigeria Labour Force Framework Re-design 2023″ report released on its website.

The NBS said it has significantly enhanced the methodology it uses to collect labour market data through the Nigeria labour force survey (NLFS).

The statistics office added that it collaborated with the World Bank to bring the NLFS methodology in line with best international practices.

This, it said, includes the adoption of the 19th ICLS “Resolution concerning statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization”.

It seems to also “Provide measures of labour underutilization, beyond unemployment and recognize and provide a framework for the measurement of all work, paid and unpaid.”

The report noted that the status of the NLFS data collection for 2022/2023 is ongoing beginning from last year October.

“Q4 report will cover data collected between 19th October 2022 and 22nd January 2023. The report for the reference quarter is almost concluded and will be published before the end of May 2023,” the NBS said.

According to the NBS, working with the World Bank has significantly improved the methodology and design for the conduct of the NLFS in Nigeria.

“The new methodology would tell an unbiased story of the Nigerian Labour Market Statistics as it should be told.

“The use of 1-hour criterion for employment would ensure unemployment is regarded as total lack of employment and more attention towards assessment of the quality of employment,” it said.

The NBS had in March 2021 reported that Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose to 33.3 per cent, translating to some 23.2 million people, the highest in at least 13 years and the second-highest rate in the world.

The figure jumped from 27.1 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2020 amidst Nigeria’s lingering economic crisis made worse by the coronavirus pandemic. The unemployment rate in the country has more than quadrupled since 2016 when the economy slipped into a recession.

In April 2021, Nigeria’s Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, claimed that the World Bank questioned the methodology employed by the NBS to generate its employment statistics.

He added that he had on several occasions queried the employment statistics released by the NBS.

“We have a virtual meeting of the national economic advisory council with the World Bank to look at Nigeria’s modalities for employment statistics data collection.

“There has been a little confusion there as to the accuracy of data generated by the NBS. So, we want to align everything tomorrow (Thursday). The World Bank says the NBS methodology doesn’t conform to the global standard, especially the ILO format of arriving at such (an) employment Index.” Mr Ngige said.

But the NBS dismissed Mr Ngige’s claim, adding that the World Bank never questioned its methodology.

From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

Nigeria

is suitably positioned to become a superpower in the unfolding energy transition regime given its over 200 million population and abundant energy sources, the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has said.

The NUPRC Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Komolafe said as a country, Nigeria boasts of 37.064 billion barrels of oil with a daily production of over 1.5 million barrels of oil which makes it rightfully positioned to achieve the right energy mix for sustainability of energy supply.

In terms of reserves, he said Nigeria ranks 2nd in Africa, 8th in OPEC and 11th in the World. On the other hand, the nation ranks 1st in Africa, 6th in OPEC and 15th in the World in terms of crude oil production.

He explained that the GDP per capita for Nigeria stands at $1,998 which ranks her at 12th position amongst the OPEC member states and 22nd in Africa.

Mr Komolafe said crude oil contributes over 85 per cent to Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, with GDP contribution of about 6.33 per cent. On the other hand, Algeria’s contribution is 10.2 per cent, Angola’s is 30 per cent and Libya’s is at over 50 per cent.

He noted that Nigeria is a nation where needs meet with opportunity.

“Nigeria is blessed with potentials for blue energy, solar, wind, biomass as well as other sources of renewable energy to leverage for the right energy mix in the energy transition regime.

“Unfortunately, in the years preceding the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021), investments in the Nigerian oil and gas industry declined due to regulatory uncertainty in addition to de-funding of fossil fuel development occasioned by energy transition and COVID-19.

“Most of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) deprioritized Nigeria in their portfolios leading to the redirection of CAPEX to other countries and the attendant dwindling investment in Nigeria’s upstream sector,” he said.

For instance, he said, Nigeria’s total annual upstream capital expenditure decreased by 74 per cent from $27 billion in the year 2014 to less than $6 billion in 2022.

“More so, increasing competition from regional peers has led to a decrease in the proportion of the overall upstream investment attracted by Nigeria.

“This under-investment is also reflected in the country’s rig count,” he added.

On average, he explained that Nigeria had 17 active oil rigs in 2019 representing one of the highest counts on the African continent as of then.

According to him, Nigeria’s average rig count declined to 11 in 2020, 7 in 2021, and 10 in 2022, but recently grew to 24 in April 2023, a positive signal of new investments trickling into the country.

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He said this is also a reflection of investors’ acceptance of the effective implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by the regulator.

In contrast, he said other OPEC members countries such as Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Libya, and Angola had 117, 62, 31, 12 and 9 active rigs respectively as of February 2023 as against Nigeria’s rig count which stood at 13.

“However, following two years of high energy prices, the global oil and gas industry is experiencing a boom that could be directed to capital investment in the upstream.

“The projected outlook over the next few years is positive, and as an industry, we need to leverage on this opportunity by doing all that is necessary to attract more investments and revive the Nigerian upstream sector,” he said.

The official emphasised the need for oil and gas producers in Africa to embrace the reality of green transition and take a strategic position to leverage the opportunities presented by the unfolding era has indeed become more pressing.

“Energy transition plans have also been derailed by the unprecedented global energy crisis provoked by the Russia-Ukraine war as reiterated by the G7 Ministers of Climate, Energy and the Environment.

“It is therefore incumbent on us as industry stakeholders to embrace climate action initiatives targeted at emissions reduction while ensuring that opportunities arising from the increasing demand for credit in the Voluntary Carbon Markets do not elude us,” he added.

In response to the dynamics of the energy transition and the global footprint, he said the NUPRC has embarked on the development of a regulatory framework for carbon-pricing systems to make businesses pay for their emissions and incentivize emission reductions through carbon credits.

“The Commission has risen to the occasion by establishing a new Department, “Energy Transition & Carbon Monetization”, saddled with the regulation of the oil and gas carbon market and we will soon revert to the industry on proposed actions and measures in this regard.

“It is pertinent to state that Nigeria is already charting a new course in the Upstream Petroleum Sector and is poised to secure a blossoming energy future through effective implementation of the PIA that potently provides legal, governance, fiscal and regulatory frameworks for regulating industry operations.”

He added that the NUPRC in line with its mandate is developing forwardthinking technical and commercially viable regulations as regulatory instruments to promote transparency, efficiency, and innovation for the sustainable development of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources.

NBS: Nigeria’s internet subscribers increased to 154m in Q4 2022 — up by 9.7%

From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s internet users increased to 154.8 million in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022.

NBS, in its latest telecoms data report released on Friday, said the total number of active internet subscribers in Q4 2022, stood at 154,847,901 — up from 141,971,560 reported in Q4 2021.

The bureau said the upward movement marked a 9.07 percent growth in internet subscribers for the sector in the period reviewed.

“On a quarter-on-quarter basis, this grew by 1.35 percent,” NBS added.

The report also said the total number of active voice subscribers in Q4 2022, rose to “222,571,568 from the 195,463,898 reported in Q4 2021”.

This, according to the agency, indicates a growth rate of 13.87 percent.

But on a quarter-on-quarter basis, voice subscribers grew by 4.89 percent, NBS said.

“On state profile analysis, Lagos state had the highest number of active voice subscribers in Q4 2022 with 26,460,867, followed by Ogun with 12,994,352; and Kano with 12,373,201. On the other hand, Bayelsa recorded the least with 1,571,692, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1,920,996 and 2,001,846, respectively,” the bureau said.

“In addition, Lagos had the highest number of active internet subscribers in Q4 2022 with 18,702,394, followed by Ogun with 9,206,614; and Kano with 8,470,131. On the other hand, Bayelsa recorded the least with 1,101,002, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1,264,825 and 1,474,970, respectively.”

NBS, however, noted that MTN Nigeria had the highest share of subscriptions in Q4 2022.

The report shows that MTN Nigeria recorded 65 million internet subscribers in the quarter examined; followed Globacom (43 million), Airtel, (41 million), and 9mobile (4.4 million).

On active voice subscriptions, MTN also led with 89 million subscribers.

While 9mobile had about 12 million active voice subscribers, Globacom and Airtel both recorded 60 million voice users.

Peoples Daily had reported that the total number of internet subscribers declined by 7.99 percent to 141.9 million in 2021.

The dip has been linked to restrictions on sales of SIM cards which stifled the telecoms sector in 2021 — coupled with the ongoing national identification number (NIN) and SIM integration exercise.