Economy
50.5% of Nigerian Children Engage in Economic Activities—NBS
By Adedapo Adesanya
Data has shown that 50.5 per cent of Nigerian children, aged between 5 and 17, are engaged in some form of economic activities.
This was disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its report titled Nigeria Child Labour and Forced Labour Survey 2022 released on Thursday.
Child Labour, according to the bureau, refers to work for which children are either too young or that may be physically or psychologically injurious to their health and well-being.
“50.5 per cent ( 31,756.302) of all children aged 5 – 17 years old in Nigeria are engaged in economic activity,” the NBS said.
The report said 39.2 per cent of children (24, 673, 485) are in child labour and 22.9 per cent of children (14,390,353) are involved in hazardous work.
According to the report, the North-west geopolitical zone had the highest number of children in child labour (6,407,102) and in hazardous work (3,266,728).
However, in terms of the percentage of children in child labour and hazardous work, the NBS said the South-east region has the highest prevalence of children involved in child labour at 49.9 per cent.
“In the 5-17 age group, nearly 94 per cent of children in child labour are involved in own-use production of goods (including collection of firewood and fetching water), 24 per cent are in employment and 11 per cent perform unpaid trainee work,” the report said.
It said children aged 5-14 years old in child labour are less likely to be in employment and more likely to be engaged in own-use production of goods than children aged 15-17 years old in child labour.
It explained that almost 96 per cent of children in child labour who live in rural areas are engaged in own-use production of goods and nearly 26 per cent are in employment compared to 89 per cent and 20 per cent respectively of children in child labour who live in urban areas.
It added that in the 5 -17 age group, children in child labour spend an average of 14.6 hours per week working, while older children in child labour spend more time per week at work than younger children.
The NBS data said children aged 15 – 17 years old in child labour spend an average of 24.6 hours per week working compared to 19.4 hours for children aged 12 – 14 years old and 9.8 hours for children aged 5 – 11 years old.
“Children in child labour who live in rural areas spend 2.3 more hours working on average than children in child labour who live in urban areas. Boys in child labour spend more time working per week on average than girls in child labour,” it said.
However, the NBS noted that these estimates do not include time spent performing household chores.
The bureau said employment is the most time-intensive form of work on average for children in child labour with children spending on average 16 hours per week.
“Time-intensity in employment and unpaid trainee work is substantially higher in urban areas than the national average. Children in child labour are less likely to attend school than those not in child labour,” it said.
The report added that in the 5-17 age group, 53.3 per cent of children in child labour have been exposed to at least one workplace hazard.
“Children in child labour who live in rural areas are more likely to be exposed to workplace hazards than those who live in urban areas.
“16.3 per cent of children in child labour have experienced a work-related injury. Boys in child labour are more likely to have experienced a work-related injury than girls in child labour,” it said.
The bureau further explained that girls are more likely to be engaged in household chores than boys.
“62.2 per cent of girls performing household chores compared to 50.8 per cent of boys. Children are often engaged in household chores in addition to work in economic activities. 73.1 per cent of children are both in child labour and household chores,” it said.
The report added that in the 5-14 age group, 77.6 per cent of children attend school while 46.5 per cent are working and 11.2 per cent are exclusively working.
“Children in the urban areas are substantially less likely to be working only and more likely to attend school only than their rural counterparts. There are few differences between boys and girls.
“In the 5-17 age group, more than two-thirds of children are working and 21.9 per cent are exclusively working. Children living in rural areas are 12 percentage points more likely to be working and 17 percentage points less likely to attend school than children living in urban areas,” the report said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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