By Adedapo Adesanya
More government officials have expressed their support for the land border closure. Before now, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, had thrown his weight behind the closure and the latest to romance this is the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Chris Ngige who said the development has helped to improve internal security.
Speaking recently at the Lagos International Trade Fair, after a presentation by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mr Ngige, represented by the Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo, said that the federal government had put up procedures in place to create employment for millions of Nigeria.
He noted that the policy would help drive for local provision of adequate food for Nigerians while encouraging indigenous farmers to do more with the agricultural value chain which has offered employment opportunities to millions of jobless Nigerians. Accordingly, with this done, employed youths would see no motive to engage in banditry and other social vices, he said.
The minister added that the government had also made available micro and small-scale enterprises promotion as parts of its employment creation initiatives, disclosing further that steps were taken to tackle the core causes of poverty and that the government has partnered with agencies in and outside the country.
“The NDE, in its efforts at fighting unemployment and reducing poverty has partnered with both national and international agencies in the area of capacity building, technical support and programme delivery,” he said.
He explained that the initiative has yielded positive results, expanded programme coverage of the directorate and strengthened its internal capacity for sustainable employment creation.
On his part, President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Babatunde Ruwase, noted that the issue of unemployment remained at the frontline of Nigeria’s economic woes and appreciated efforts made by the NDE in promoting empowerment schemes through entrepreneurship, skill acquisition, training, and rural enterprise development programmes.
