In 2016 budget, President proposes N500bn to pay unemployed graduates, feed school children

dimeji akinloye

December 22, 2015 8:20 PM

Ngige said the government would fight spiritedly to solve the unemployment problem totally in the country.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige

Dr Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, said the Federal Government voted N500 billion to tackle unemployment and provide care for the vulnerable.

The minister said this during a courtesy visit by the Rwanda High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Stanislas Kamanzi in Abuja.

He said the Federal Government was determined to face the menace of unemployment squarely, especially among youths in the country.

Ngige said the government was also poised to engage the over 500,000 that graduate yearly from the nation’s institutions, adding that this would prevent them from engaging in untoward activities.

He said that the people of Rwanda shared a common trend of poverty, ignorance and high rate of unemployment with Nigeria, hence the government would seek collaboration to curtail the scourge.

The minister said that the ministry would engage any country willing to assist in removing obstacles on the way of keeping the Nigerian youth busy.

He said Nigeria was ready get out of poverty, adding that the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to return the country on track.

“The government of President Buhari will fight terrorism, insecurity of lives and property and corruption, which have made it impossible for the country to grow.”

He said that there were plans to engage the youth in rice production and they would be responsible for the packaging and sale of the rice.

According to him, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will embark on an entrepreneurship scheme to engage the youth, including the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to train artisans in skill acquisition across the country.

Earlier, Kamanzi said the ministry was key to the provision of employment to the youth and should do all within its power not to disappoint them.

He said that Rwandan government would look at the area of cooperation where the two countries could explore to curtail youth restiveness due to unemployment.

READ: Breakdown of 2016 budget as presented by President Buhari

He said that some Nigerian youths who were unemployed had in the past engaged in activities detrimental to the country because of their seeming lack of hope.

Earlier, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle, who also visited the minister, said that Nigerians were focused, talented and smart people especially the young ones.

He said that it was most shocking that they did not have jobs.

Entwistle said that lack of job was the greatest challenge facing the administration of President Buhari.

The ambassador urged the government to help young talented Nigerians find job so that they could play a role in the society and enhance the nation's economy.

dimeji akinloye