The Federal Government has disclosed plans to collaborate with the private sector to create three million jobs in three years starting from this year.

The plan is contained in government’s “Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan for Job Creation and Youth Employment in Nigeria,” is targeting the areas of Technology, Wholesale and Retail, Construction and Agro-allied sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said at the Presidential Villa Abuja, on Wednesday, while receiving an implementation plan on job creation and youth employment in Nigeria jointly packaged by the Job creation Unit of the Presidency, and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) that the outlook for the country was positive.

According to a statement issued by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, in Abuja, this year the plan foresees in 2016, the creation of over 700,000 private sector jobs, majority of which are expected in the Agro-allied sector.

“This private sector-led job creation plan is different from the direct creation of government jobs planned by the Buhari presidency including 500,000 teaching jobs for unemployed graduates,” the statement said.

While expressing excitement and hope regarding the plan, the Vice President recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had set job creation as the central focus of government policy when he instructed that policy planning must address the question, “how many jobs would the policy create?”

Even though job creation might be “painfully slow,” Osinbajo assured Nigerians that the Buhari presidency is addressing the constraints that businesses face including regulatory and institutional delays. He noted that government and the private sector only need to work together and get it right this time.

According to him, “I am extremely excited at all that is available. We really have everything we need, we just need to get it right,” indicating the role of effective implementation of the job creation plan.

The statement said that the Job Creation Unit in the presidency initiated the job creation plan and the NESG as private sector players validated it through a joint committee, and would be working together with government in the implementation process.

Speaking earlier at the meeting, the chairman of the NESG, Mr. Kyari A. Bukar, noted that “NESG is honored to be part of the Committee, and we commit to collaborate with the JCU whilst leveraging our vast private sector network to collectively solve the unemployment challenges Nigeria faces.”

He added that the NESG has had the opportunity to review the Strategic Framework & Implementation Plan for Job and urged the federal government to address the sectoral constraints of job creation particularly in the four selected sectors of Technology, Wholesale & Retail, Construction and Agro-allied businesses. (Nigerian Tribune)

•Photo shows Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

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