The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has urged the federal government to replicate the strategy it used to clean up the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as a way of recovering looted funds that could be used to fund viable projects.
In a New Year message signed by its President, Solomon Adodo, and made available to Blueprint on Sunday, the NYCN expressed optimism that the year 2022 holds great potentials and urged youths to maintain their courage, resilience, and innovative spirit that they have shown over time.
“The year 2022 holds a lot of promise for Nigerian youth and the country as a whole, but we must work hard this time to ensure that opportunities are not squandered.”
“As a result, our dedicated efforts will be geared toward partnering with the government and all critical stakeholders in reducing unemployment, combating insecurity, and crippling corruption, as these are the major factors that have kept the youth, and indeed the Nigerian nation, spiraling in circles of frustration.”
“We are dissatisfied that Nigeria continues to rely heavily on imports for domestic consumption, resulting in significantly lower productivity and rising unemployment.” To ensure that local industries and businesses thrive, we call on all government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to ensure that Executive Orders 003 and 005 are fully implemented. We also recognize that the federal government has established a number of funding mechanisms and incentives to encourage youth entrepreneurship.
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“However, it must be stated emphatically that the majority of these funds, including the N75 billion Nigerian Youth Investment Fund, have not been properly assessed by the youth, resulting in the creation of new sustainable jobs on the massive scale expected.” We therefore urge the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure that these funds are released in full and on time, as stipulated, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to improve its coordination of youth into efficient productivity clusters.”
According to the statement, the new leadership of NYCN will work diligently with other key partners to create at least 1,000 new jobs, which will be accomplished through massive youth training in innovative skills for youth empowerment (SKYE), with a focus on technical and vocational education training (TVET).
“We plan to train and equip 50,000 young people in renewable energy production, installation, and maintenance” (solar power). These youth will be able to access the 500 billion naira CBN renewable energy initiatives fund after receiving training from our technical partner.
“Train and equip 30,000 young people in innovative and efficient agricultural productivity with the goal of reducing food imports by 60%, whether as raw materials or finished goods.”
“Train and equip 15,000 young people in other areas of manufacturing, such as electrical (2) appliances, furniture, and small machines.”
“Train and equip 5,000 youth in innovative ICT skills (software and hardware) to fully benefit from the expanding global digital economy,” according to the statement.
