The Executive Director, the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives for the Niger Delta (PIND), Dr Dara Akala has stated that Nigeria is the eighth most populous country in the world with a current population of 184 million, adding that the figure was expected to rise to 320 million by 2035 with unemployment growth rate of 45.56 per cent.
Akala noted that Nigeria’s unemployment rate for youth aged 15-24 spiked to an all-time high of over 33 per cent in the third quarter of 2017, explaining that females were disproportionately affected, as more than 50 per cent of unemployed youths were them.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ forum organized by PIND in partnership with Ford Foundation and the Rivers State Government, in Port Harcourt, last Wednesday, Akala said that the public sector was responsible for providing more attractive jobs, revealing that PIND studies show that residents’ perspectives were widening beyond government jobs.
He stressed that among employed Nigerians, productive jobs that generate sufficient income to alleviate poverty were scarce, despite the palatable public sector jobs matrix, regretting that the sector lacks the capacity to absorb the growing supply of youth labour.
“In light of these issues, PIND is investing in the Niger Delta Youth Employment Pathways (NDYEP) programme to address youth job readiness, workforce development, and job creation in Abia, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers states, with support from the Ford Foundation.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana