• says Nigeria recorded over 4.7million job loss under Buhari administration
by Leke Baiyewu, Abuja
The Senate President , Bukola Saraki , has stated that it will be futile for the current administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari to blame past administrations for the spate of unemployment in the country which he said has mounted to over 4.7 million job loss at 1.7 million loss in 9 months between 2016-2017 alone based on National Bureau of Statistic data.
He called on the Federal Government to do more in creating jobs for the teeming youths in the country.
Saraki also called for closer coordination between the agencies of the Federal Government in charge of youth development and job creation.
He stated that this would ensure that government’s policies and programmes on job creation were aligned across the board.
The Senate President said this at a one-day ‘Special Public Hearing on Youth Job Creation and Entrepreneurship’ held at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, on Monday.
Representatives of Civil Society Organisations and ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government were in attendance.
Saraki said, “It is futile to point fingers or cast blame on any one administration and/or government programme. Nigeria’s youths deserve our immediate interest, best thinking and above all, our best efforts to create workable solutions to include their concerns in our national investment framework.”
The Senate President noted that it was necessary for the executive, legislature, private sector and civil society organisations to give immediate attention to tackling youth unemployment and developmental crisis facing the country.
He also stated that the primary factors contributing to high youth unemployment were high population growth outpacing economic growth and “the fact that the curricula in our schools have not equipped students with appropriate skills for employment; and the lack of vibrant industries to absorb competent graduates.”
Saraki noted that the hearing was intended to discuss issues that would inform the Federal Government’s budgetary and social policy decisions.
