The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr. Boss Gida Mustapha has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has been deploying innovative ideas including the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERPG) to address the challenges posed by unemployment especially among the youths.
Mustapha was speaking on Thursday in Abuja at a roundtable on the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) Policy Note on Tackling Youth Unemployment in Nigeria organised by the bureau and DFID.
Represented by a Director in the General Services Office (GSO), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) Mr Yinka Aguda, the SGF said the ERPG aims to create jobs by developing labour-intensive sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, housing and construction, and also encouraging private-sector participation in the economy.
“Policies to increase the pace of job creation also extend to providing urban and rural infrastructure to support productive activities and deepen national value chains among farmers, MSMEs and large companies,” he said.
He listed the N-Power programme, a N10billion Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) programme and the ENABLE youth programme among others as part of initiatives the government is using to provide gainful employment for the nation’s teeming youths.
“The real business of job creation is the responsibility of the private sector while government creates an enabling environment and strong institutions that can guarantee investment security.
“Only businessmen and entrepreneurs driven by self-interest and the motive can support job creation. It is wrong for a nation of over 160 million people to place the burden of unemployment on the sole shoulder of government alone,” he said.
The acting Director General of the BPSR Mr Dasuki Arabi said the -23-page Policy Note was the result of an August 2017 research conducted by the BPSR with support from DFID PEARL programme.
“After the study, the BPSR developed a ‘Policy Note on Youth Unemployment in Nigeria’ in order to inform a broad audience of the issue and policy ideas contained in the Policy Note that can impact strongly on debates on youth unemployment in Nigeria,” Arabi said.
He also tasked youths to utilize the ICT for their advancement and knowledge update rather than updating their Facebook profile and other social media.
The Governance Adviser and Team Leader, DFID PEARL programme, Mr Sam Onom assured of the organisation’s commitment to help Nigeria tackle the youth unemployment challenge in the country.