United Nations Resident Coordinator, Edward Kallon, has warned that the number of Nigeria’s unemployed youth threatens the stability and future of the country.
Speaking at a retreat on Management Accountability Framework in Calabar, he advised the government to unlock the “billions of dollars” needed to achieve the SDGs as the UN would play a key role in brokering and supporting such partnerships.
“The level of youth unemployment in Nigeria has made the country susceptible,” he said, adding, “Nigeria is sitting on a time bomb.”
He pledged the support of the UN to Cross River State’s industrialization drive, social inclusion and economic growth.
The state’s Deputy Governor, Prof Ivara Edu, who represented Governor Ben Ayade, tasked the UN to increase cooperation with the state, promising that the state would continue to be an attraction to development partners, while sustaining the current momentum and sharing with sister states.
A former Director General of Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Betta Edu, urged the UN to invest more in the state, and help with advocacy on issues bordering on the ceding of Bakassi and oil wells.
