On Thursday it was announced by The Federal Government that the African Development Bank has approved a $300m loan for job creation, food security and nutrition, rural income generation and improved livelihood for youths in both urban and rural areas in the country.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha declared this during a round-table meeting on tackling youth unemployment in Abuja.
The Bureau of Public Service reform in lieu with the Department for International Development organised the event.
The SGF at the event also constituted an Inter-ministerial task team to address the youth unemployment challenges in the country.
“Members of the team would be drawn from the Office of the Head of Service, ministry of labour, ministry of finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the National Directorate of Employment.”
The SGF state the Federal Government is dedicated to handling the issue of rising youth unemployment in the country through innovative ways.
“For instance, the government through the bank of Industry has launched a N10bn Youth Entrepreneurship Support program to empower youth with loans to start a business.”
“The program is aimed at equipping young aspiring entrepreneurs with the right skills and knowledge to be self-employed by starting and managing their own businesses.”
“The Federal Government has accorded agriculture priority in order to create job opportunities for the youth.
“We owe the youth in Nigeria today and tomorrow to work with determination and to do everything possible to win this battle.
“And am confident that with the commitment and strong resolve, we will have the results we are striving in the not too distant future.”
He said that the government is handling the unemployment challenges with the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.
Through the plan, the government has keyed out various sectors that could be used to create jobs for the people.
Mr Dave Arabi the Acting Director-General, BPSR, said agency had developed a policy note on how to effectively address the issue of unemployment in Nigeria.
He said the roundtable would provide a veritable platform for all stakeholders to come up with the needed solutions to addressing the unemployment situation.
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