President Muhammadu Buhari, has ordered a timely intervention to reduce unemployment in the country.
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| President Muhammadu Buhari |
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, July 8, Buhari said the directive was part of his plans to reduce unemployment in the country. He said his administration will give full attention to the rapid revival of ailing and moribund textiles, mining and agro-based industries.
The President, who addressed an audience with a delegation of foreign investors, declared that the creation of more jobs for Nigeria’s unemployed youth was the key objective of his administration’s economic agenda. He stressed that this course will be pursued with the greatest possible dedication.
“I still recall with clarity that at some point, the textile industry in Nigeria was employing about 320,000 Nigerians. But today, the same industry employs less than 30,000 people and the factories operate below capacity or they are completely closed.
“I have made a promise to Nigerians that jobs will be created as part of efforts to revive the economy and that promise will be fulfilled.
“We will move as fast as we can to resuscitate the textile and mining industries, and also improve production in our agricultural sector.”
The President told the investors, who are the proprietors of Olam Farms Nigeria Limited, that:“Now that we are trying to create jobs, we cannot allow industries and factories to close down.
Instead, we should be making every effort to ensure that we re-open the closed ones and attract new ones to reduce unemployment.”
Buhari assured the delegation, which was led by Mukul Mathur, that his administration will encourage investments in agriculture and other sectors of the economy by creating a more favourable environment and enabling laws.
According to him, he had already ordered some immediate interventions to address current challenges faced by industrialists in the country after receiving briefings from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investment.
“We will move very quickly to see what we can do to help you and other investors in the country so that you can help us to create jobs for our people,’’ the President told Mathur and his team.
Mathur told the President that Olam Group of Companies was established in Nigeria in 1989, and currently employs about half a million Nigerians, directly and indirectly.
However, he added that the group was facing difficulties with the reversal of some government policies in 2010 and 2013, which could lead to the closure of some of its industries in the country.
According to statistical reports, the Nigerian youth unemployment is as high as 50% of the youth population which is currently over 100 million.
