1.8 million graduates enter job market yearly — FG

Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief
Emeka Wogu
The Minister for Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
on Tuesday in Abuja said no fewer than 1.8 million
graduates in the country move into the labour
market every year.
Okonjo-Iweala, who is also the Coordinating
Minister for the Economy, made this known during
a meeting with delegates of the Arewa Youth Forum
on issues of youth development in the northern
part of the country.
She said that the data was generated by National
Bureau of Statistics and that it was to enable the
Federal Government to ascertain the level of youth
unemployment and come up with policies to
address it.
She said, “I am proud to say that after two months
of methodological work, the statisticians have
come up with the data that 1.8 million people in the
country enter the job market yearly.
“I am happy to tell you that last year we were able
to create 1.6 million jobs. So, we are getting close
to the 1.8 million that enter the job market.
Also, he said, “We also have a pool of 5.3 million
unemployed graduates that have been
accumulating over the years.
“So our strategy is to come up with policies that
will cover the number of entrants every year before
taking care of the backlog.”
The minister said that President Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration was doing a lot to create
employment opportunities for the youth.
“Through YouWin programme, we have had 3,600
winners, among whom 2,400 winners have created
27,000 jobs so far. Our target is to create a
minimum of 80,000 jobs through this.
“Through SURE-P, so far, we have created
120,000 jobs. While YouWin is geared towards
graduates, the SURE-P is for those youths who
may not have gone through school or did not
complete their education.
“The President has launched the National Mortgage
Re-finance Corporation which will not only provide
housing for the low income earners but will
simultaneously create thousands of jobs for our
youth.
“We are targeting 10,000 mortgages this year and
for every house you build, you create five direct
jobs and two and half indirect jobs, which can
create another 75,000 jobs,” she added.
On agriculture, Okonjo-Iweala said that more than
400,000 part time jobs had been created and had
become a source of good income for the youth.
She also said that the government was designing a
special programme for states in the North-East
region, adding that the scheme would focus on
education and agriculture.
Earlier, the President of Arewa Youth Forum, Alhaji
Gambo Gujungu, said that the visit to the minister
was to deliberate on issues of development in
Northern Nigeria with regards to unemployment.
“The Arewa Youth Forum is making this important
visit to rub minds with you on issues of national
interest, particularly the development of Northern
Nigeria as it affects youth unemployment.
“We wish to also discuss the absence of peace and
unity that has divided the country, washing away
the inherent brotherhood we were known for,” he
said.
Gujungu said the association had through the Chief
of Staff to the President, presented a paper to the
presidency on the issues.
He said that insecurity, marginalisation,
underdevelopment, infrastructure decay, and youth
unemployment in the Northern part of country were
some of the issues contained in the paper sent to
the presidency.
He said the association had developed a strategic
document titled, “Restoring the Security of
Northern Nigeria through Youth Empowerment” as
its contribution to resolving the issues.
The youth president commended the minister and
President Jonathan for their “visionary leade