The Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi, has said he wasn’t sure of the statistics of employment in Nigeria, but vowed that his ministry is making frantic efforts to tackle unemployment in the country.

Dingyadi stated this on Monday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity, chaired by Sen. Diket Plang (APC-Plateau).
Dingyadi, who said that he was barely three months old in office, said that no time was being spared in fighting unemployment.

When asked about the unemployment statistics in the country, Dingyadi said that he would not want to give figures that he wasn’t sure of.

“We didn’t know that this question was going to be answered. I don’t want to go into giving you figures that I’m not very sure of. But I want to assure you that we have these figures.

“I didn’t come with them. We have to coordinate them because all our parastatals and agencies are working on this issue of fighting unemployment. “So we’ll coordinate and provide the committee with these figures. I know members of this committee are very serious and very intelligent.

“When we bring these figures, you will know whether what we are telling you is correct or not. So please, give us a little time. We will get these figures ready for you and we will make them public if you want us to do so.

“I’m sure the figures are there. It’s only that we didn’t come with them because we didn’t know that this question is going to be answered,” he said. Chairman of the committee, Plang, appreciated President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the welfare of Nigerian workers, both in the public and the private sectors.

He also acknowledged the ministry’s commitment to ensuring decent work and promoting employment opportunities.