From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the World Bank have gone into partnership towards ensuring the accuracy of survey data in Nigeria for government, policymakers, researchers, development partners and the general public to make the right decisions for the betterment of the society.
The Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, made the disclosure on Saturday in his opening remarks at training of enumerators (ToE) for the newly enhanced Nigerian Labour Force Survey (NLFS) that will last for one week at Ibadan Business School, Ibadan, Oyo State.
He stated that the NBS and World Bank began working on the enhanced NLFS six months ago, which culminated in the ongoing training of enumerators, that were drawn from the six geo-political zones of the country.
The enhanced NLFS, according to him, would enable the NBS to come up with a reliable, comprehensive process and design, that would satisfy the needs of all users, and address concerns of quality. It is also expected to address questions on seasonality, reduce proxy responses, and be cost-effective, as well as eliminate gaps.
Adeniran said: “We have designed a new approach for the conduct of the NLFS survey in Nigeria. This new approach involves a 12month-long method of data collection, with a streamlined workforce, manageable sample size and an enhanced quality assurance mechanism built into the process.
“The outcome of the review has brought about new additions to the instrument, capturing information on persons employed but not at work, long-term unemployment, job satisfaction, discouraged job seekers, and information on decent work, which is one the indicators of the SDG Goal 8.
“Accordingly, the management of the Bureau working with the World Bank thought it wise to bring all the field personnel selected for this exercise to one location for the training of enumerators. Being the maiden round, using this approach, all efforts are geared towards ensuring that everything humanly possible is done to guarantee the quality of the results and realise the objectives of the exercise.
“With this approach, which is similar to the last Nigerian Living Standard Survey (NLSS), conducted in 2018/19, whose results received widespread commendations, is expected to produce national figures on a quarterly basis, with interesting labour market statistics, while a full state-level disaggregated report will be published at the end of the 12-months of data collection.
“The partnership we have enjoyed, particularly on this assignment has been very enriching for the Bureau and the Statistical System, and I wish to thank them immensely. As I always say, the Bank is a dependable and reliable ally turned family, and NBS will not be where we are today without this close working collaboration with the Bank. It is my hope that, through our work on this NLFS and other subsequent exercises to follow, we will deepen and strengthen this close working relationship for our mutual benefit.”
The World Bank Representative, Jonathan Williams, in his keynote address, noted that the project has the support of some countries, including the United States, France and Italy.