Business
Skill Mismatch Worsens Nigeria’s Unemployment Situation – LCCI
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) says skill mismatch contributes to persistent worsening of the Nigeria’s unemployment situation.
The LCCI President, Mrs Toki Mabogunje, said this yesterday at a news conference organised in collaboration with a group, ‘The Future Project’, on plans to train 1,000 young Nigerians under the Future Africa Internship Programme (FAIP).
Mabogunje, represented by Mrs Daramola Bamidele, Vice President, LCCI, said the training was part of efforts to improve the nation’s employment indices.
“At the LCCI, we have realised that skill mismatch contributes to persistent worsening of the Nigeria’s unemployment situation.
“It is therefore, not surprising that employers of labour lament about the skill deficiency of job seekers, especially fresh graduates.
“The discordance between school curriculum and industry needs affirms why many young people are unemployed,’’ she said.
Mabogunje said the internship programme was aimed at enabling thousands of young Africans to achieve economic sustainability through internships.
She said that the initiative was to also address the discordance between school curriculum and industry, to engender more skilled and employable youths in the country.
The LCCI president said that the scheme was an industry-focused programme with the mandate to build empowered citizens across Africa through enterprise and citizenship.
She said the scheme had direct and indirect benefits for the Nigerian economy via the enhancement of human capabilities, likely moderation in social restiveness and improvement in employability of fresh graduates.
“This initiative anchors on the conviction that Africa’s growth requires a generation of skillful and highly productive young people as the youth accounts for sizeable proportion of Africa’s population,” she said.
According to her, the LCCI sees the initiative as an avenue for fresh graduates to acquire relevant skills and gain practical experience in their chosen profession.
She said that ‘The Future Awards Internship Programme’ would equip young graduates and make them employable in the job market.
In his remarks, Founding Partner, The Future Project, Mr Adebola Williams, said the internship would provide 1,000 Nigerians an opportunity to be closer to their dreams.
Williams said that the scheme was mandated to provide the bridge to enable employable youths gain quality, practical experience for a better future and societal outcome.
“The FAIP creates a multidiscipline avenue and opportunity for young people to have real and quality experience.
“There is nothing more powerful than the hopeful and empowered human being, as that person can do anything and Nigerians are unrepentantly hopeful.
“We are looking to train 1,000 youths between now and 2023, and with talent and hard work, great achievement is sure.
“We are also open to partnerships and applications by companies willing to adopt interns,” he said.
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A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways
The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and members of his church were in a programme.
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?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet to be recovered
as search party are still ongoing.
Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report, our Correspondent gathered that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.
The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit
The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s on the sad accident
By: CHINEDU WOSU
The Rivers State Council of Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.
Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, recently.
Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.
He noted that the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.
According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.
He also informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.
“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.
Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.
The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.
He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.
The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.
He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.
Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.
By: King Onunwor
The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.
Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.
“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.
The minister noted the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.
According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.
Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.
He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.
“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.
He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.
“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.
Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.
“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.
“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.
Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.
She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.
Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).
“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.
“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.
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