President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday boasted
that his administration is the first in Nigeria’s history to create
5,400 direct jobs for the nation’s unemployed youths. He said the feat
was achieved through the Federal Government’s Youth Enterprise with
Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin). Jonathan spoke during the presidential
launch of Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy at the old Banquet Hall of the
Presidential Villa, Abuja. The programme was designed to encourage
youth employment and self-reliance. Jonathan also said 2,500
entrepreneurs empowered by his administration had also created an
average of nine jobs each therefore bringing the total jobs created to
22,000.
The President said, “This will be the first
government in the history of Nigeria that will directly create 5,400
jobs through the YouWin programmes. “I am also proud to say that the
2,500 entrepreneurs have created an average of nine jobs each making it a
total of 22,000 jobs so far. “Entrepreneurs are the engine room of the
Nigeria’s economy as they are responsible for more than 60 percent of
our $510bn Gross Domestic Product and the MSMEs are responsible for
almost 98 percent of the new jobs created in our economy on an annual
basis. “The new jobs we are targeting will come from the SMEs.” Jonathan
expressed delight that the success story of his administration’s job
creation efforts is impressive and beyond expectation. The failure rate
of the programme, he added, is less than 10 percent. He said his
administration at inception identified unemployment among youths as one
of the greatest challenges to tackle. This, he said, was the reason why
his government took numerous steps to tackle the challenge. He said his
administration’s target was to create not less than two million jobs
annually. Minister of Youth Development, Mr. Boni Haruna, had earlier
described the programme as private sector-driven initiative that seeks
to empower youth. The Chief Executive Officer of Anabel Group, Mr.
Nicholas Okoye, said the present administration had empowered over seven
million youths. Okoye said the figure had surpassed the total of those
empowered by previous administrations put together. “Those who say you
(Jonathan) have not done anything for the youth are simply not saying
the truth,” he said:- Describing all Nigerian problems are subset of
employment crisis among the youth, Okoye commended the Federal
Government for tackling the challenge headlong. Source:- Punch NG
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