NDE, Others To Mobilise For Youths Employment

President Goodluck Jonathan says his administration is committed to finding solution to youth unemployment in the country.

The president said this last Friday during the 2011 International Youth Day Celebration at the Isaac Boro Park, Port Harcourt.

In his address delivered by the Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi through his deputy, Engr. Tele Ikuru, President Jonathan disclosed that all the government agencies including National Directorate of Employment (NDE), National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, have been mandated to effectively tackle youth unemployment problems in the country.

He stressed that the nation cannot realise her vision of becoming one of the world’s largest economies by the year 2020 without the contributions of all stakeholders, including the youths who will directly benefit in 2020, assuring that the synergy of all stakeholders in youth development would assist in cutting down the unemployment rate in the country.

On the theme for this year’s Youth Day: “Dialogue and Mutual Understanding,” President Jonathan hinted that it is the United Nations General Assembly’s “appreciation of the value of dialogue among youth from diverse cultures” that has engendered peace in the nations, calling on Nigerian youths to make the theme the only option in everyday interactions.

In his speech, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth Development, Mr. Dan Ibubeleye pointed out that the Youth Day celebration should remind the youths of their social responsibility to their parents, communities, state and the nation, and therefore urged them to embrace dialogue in solving problems and to “establish bridges of love across the ethnic groups.”

Also speaking, the Chairman, National Youth Council of Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter, Mr. Bethel Oko Jaja, said the youths in the state are suffering from acute unemployment, decrying the situation where companies in the state would recruit staff at all levels from Lagos and post them to Rivers State, urging the state government to prevail on the companies to abide by the state employment laws.

In his message, the African Representative to the World Assembly of Youths (WAY), Mr. Marvin Yobana, stated the need for governments to partner with youths in order to find solution to pressing global problems, and called on youths to invest time and efforts in achieving societal changes.