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The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has disclosed that the Federal Government is set to launch a plan called the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP 2021-2024).
The Minister said that the launch of NIYEAP was part of President’s Buhari’s poverty and unemployment reduction objectives.
In a statement, Dare explained that the plan is an effort to continue to facilitate an enabling environment that will create about 3.7 million jobs annually.
He also said that the aim of the plan is to achieve national development goals, particularly, sustainable economic growth in the country, just as the minister said that the youth must and should be regarded as a viable investment that can yield positive benefits for all spheres of the socio-economic progress, better than a group targeted for periodic empowerment interventions.
The Minister added that it is important to state the economic and social consequences of youth unemployment transcends the youth group. It has also resulted in missed economic opportunities for the nation.
According to him, the plan will emphasise 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.
He stated, ”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.
”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.