The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and the Edo State government have agreed to collaborate in creating jobs for the unskilled and unemployed in the state.
The decision was reached at a crucial meeting between the Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki and the leadership of NDE, when the governor visited the corporate headquarters of the directorate in Abuja.
Already, the Director-General of the NDE, Dr Nasir Ladan Mohammed, has directed the Edo State office of the NDE to work out a proper framework for an effective collaboration with the state government in employment creation.
During the meeting, NDE boss explained to the governor the potentials, programmes, activities, achievements and new employment initiatives of the NDE towards creating employment opportunities for the unemployed throughout Nigeria.
While describing Governor Obaseki as a very intelligent technocrat, he commended him for having a great passion for youth employment.
He told the governor that with its spread and experience, the NDE has become a force in Nigeria as far as job creation is concerned.
Dr Ladan described the unemployment situation in the country as worrisome and said the challenge should not be left to the Federal Government alone.
According to him, “inter- governmental and agency collaborations is one of the ways to effectively combat unemployment in the country.
He regretted that thousands of young Nigerians have lost their lives in the Sahara and Mediterranean Sea while trying to cross to Europe in search of jobs.
He said the NDE will soon launch a robust and formidable website which will help in generating data for the unemployed and also serve as intervention tool for labour export.
According to him, the concept will be modelled after those of the Philippines and Bangladesh where labour exchange and diaspora in-flows contribute significantly to the economy.
“Nigerians will travel if they wish but it shall be with dignity because there will be governmental interactions. This will also go a long way to checkmate the menace of human trafficking,” he added.
Also speaking during the visit, Governor Obaseki, acknowledged the potentials and achievements of the NDE over the years.
“We shall collaborate with you because we realise you have government mandate to create jobs, you have veritable job programmes, you also have skills centres to drive Vocational Trainings.
“We are also looking into the direction of agriculture, we want our people to be trained in poultry farming, animal rearing, fishery and even food processing. Today, we cannot talk about entrepreneurship training in agriculture without considering technology; we are convinced that NDE has done a lot in these areas. It makes a lot of sense coming to you.”
The governor observed that the problem militating against socio-economic development in Nigeria is not the lack of money and resources, but wastages emanating from duplication of functions, facilities and efforts.
He added that the NDE has enough structures nationwide to address the problem of unemployment in any state of the federation.
“The NDE has the resources, tested job programmes, good ideas and people to drive our mission,” Obaseki added.
He further stated that the problem of human trafficking is highly related to unemployment, adding that many youths are lured into prostitution in foreign lands because of lack of decent jobs in the country.
According to him, “one out of every five people involved in human trafficking is an Edo Indigene.
The governor also said that the problem of human trafficking will be fully addressed by his administration.
‘’We shall provide jobs and raise the literacy level of our people through massive enlightenment.”
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