The Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has denied ever saying Nigeria’s inflation figure was lower than other countries, including USA and Canada.
Keyamo was reacting to the fact-checking result on his claim that Nigeria is doing better than the USA and some major countries as to the percentage rise of inflation in the last few years by the Daily Trust newspaper.
The report said part of his claim is false.
Keyamo had while featuring on Channel’s TV program ‘Politics Today’ said Nigeria fared better than the United States, Canada, Russia, Spain, and others in the way inflation is increasing.
According to Keyamo, Nigeria’s rise in inflation was just a five percent increase from 2020 when the world was under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic as against other countries across the world, which had their inflation rate increase by a percentage that is way higher than that of Nigeria.
Taking to his verified personal Twitter handle, @fkeyamo, Keyamo expressed his displeasure, saying the fact-checker was wrong.
“I was fact-checked by Daily Trust on my claim that Nigeria is doing better than USA and some major countries as to the percentage rise of inflation in the last few years and found out to be true. But I never said that Nigeria’s inflation figure is lower. The fact-checker was wrong!” he said.
While stating the outcome of the fact-checking, Daily Trust said verification from figures by the World Bank and the statistics of the countries Keyamo mentioned, it found out that the percentage rise in inflation in Nigeria is relatively low compared to countries such as the USA, Canada, and Spain. It, therefore, concluded that Keyamo’s claim in that aspect is true.
However, part of the verification of his claim showed that Nigeria’s inflation figures at double-digit are having a significant effect on the economy compared to other countries cited. The report concluded that Keyamo’s claim is false
