The Federal Government says it has entered into partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to engage more stakeholders in a round-table discussion on youth employment and skill developments.

Prof. Stephen Ocheni, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the inauguration of the task team on Public-Private Round-Table on youth employment and skill development.

He said the inauguration of the team was part of the federal government efforts to address the increasing rate of youths unemployment in the country.

Ocheni said the idea was also to attract more private sector participation in line with its widely acknowledged higher potential for job creation.

According to him, there is the need for all hands to be on deck in solving unemployment and uplifting the socio-economic well-being of majority of youths.

“We are all aware of the reports on the performance of our country on employment matters and the expectations at regional and global levels.

“With a population of over 180 million people, the largest in Africa, the opportunities offered by the large population size are not being harnessed through gainful engagement of the productive age.

“Although Nigerian youths have been described as enterprising, hardworking and innovative, yet, recent publication by the National Bureau of Statistics shows an unemployment rate of 18.8 per cent,” he said.

According to him, this shows that there is disconnect in the capacity to translate these attributes to gainful employment opportunities and thriving enterprises for wealth creation and sustainable development.

In his remarks, Mr Ebrima Faal, Senior Director, Nigeria Country Office, AfDB said the inauguration of the team was to seek effective solutions to youth employment crisis.

Faal, represented by Mr Baba Abdullahi, Regional Procurement Coordinator, AfDB, called for the realisation of the potential of youths in the development of the economy.

He said job creation entailed supporting youths to create jobs through entrepreneurial development and realise the role of the private sector in reducing the level of fragility in the economy.

The AfDB senior director said the bank had prioritised youth employment, adding that its goal was to create 25 million jobs and equip 15 million youths in Africa.

He said the bank had invested over 400 million US dollars in public and private sectors to promote job creation for youths in the country. (NAN)

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