A project called Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP 2021-2024) has been announced by the Federal Government to tackle Nigeria’s youth unemployment.
This was made public by Nigeria’s Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, in a statement on Tuesday in which he stated that the launch of NIYEAP was part of President’s Buhari’s poverty and unemployment reduction objectives.
The Minister said: ”The plan is this Administration’s effort to continue to facilitate an enabling environment that will create about 3.7 million jobs annually, so as to achieve national development goals, particularly, sustainable economic growth in the country.
”The youth must and should be regarded as a viable investment that can yield positive benefits for all spheres of our socio-economic progress, better than a group targeted for periodic empowerment interventions,” Dare said.
The Minister added that it is important to state the economic and social consequences of youth unemployment that transcends the youth group has also resulted in missed economic opportunities for the nation.
”Youth inclusion is about skilled human capital, social and economic stability, a vibrant and healthy labour force, which will also engender political stability and national growth and development,” he said.
The Minister disclosed that the plan will emphasize the 4Es, which are: Employability, Entrepreneurship Development, Employment Creation, and Equality and rights, with detailed actions required in support of employment creation for youths in critical economic and social sectors, including the financing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
”Sectors such as Digital Economy, Rural Economy, Green Economy and Renewable energy sector, Manufacturing, Tourism, Construction and Services. The Plan will also ensure the inclusion of partners across sectors and will create a robust partnership base through which my Ministry will ensure wider reach of youth employment programmes across the country.
”To ensure inclusion from the grassroots, the Ministry of Youth and Sport will also be convening zonal inception workshops on the NIYEAP. Stakeholders from the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory will be included in the implementation of the plan,” he said.
