FACT CHECK: Can 85m Nigerians lose their jobs as claimed by minister of science? | TheCable thecable.ng/fact-check-can… 
On Monday, Mohammed Abdullahi, minister of state for science and technology, said 85 million Nigerians are on the verge of losing their jobs due to a lack of digital knowledge and skills.
Speaking at the launch of Generation Unlimited Nigeria (GUN), Abdullahi said his ministry is leveraging on existing structures at its disposal with a mission to incubate young people and get them ready for the labour market.
The GUN, an initiative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (@UNICEF), is a global platform bringing together government, multi-sectorial institutions, the private sector and young people to support 20 million young Nigerians within 10 to 24 and 35 years to get jobs by 2030.
Nigeria’s population is currently mapped above 200 million, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations (UN) data.
The National Population Commission (NPC) also uses the UN data for reference on population statistics – as it houses outdated census figures of 2006.
From the population figure, the junior minister means that 42.5 percent of the overall population can lose their jobs due to the lack of digital skills.
The implication of his statement also means that almost half of the population are in the labour force or active working population –- at 85 million.
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