The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Labour and Manpower Planning, Pastor Sunday Ekanem Ibuot, told CHRISTIAN APPOLOS in this interview, that technology and skill acquisition that are empowering in nature, followed by public private partnership industries must be chief in federal and state governments’ agenda for job creation and reduction of crime and social vices in Nigeria. He said the Akwa Ibom State government has already taken the lead.
What do you think is the bane of job creation in Nigeria and what in your opinion will change the narrative?
As it is today in Nigeria where all the states are dependent on what they receive from the federal to survive, the best way to go is to strengthen the institutions we have and most importantly begin serious training and retraining of Nigerians, both workers and the unemployed, on various technological and empowering entrepreneurship skills.
The way things are going in Nigeria, not all the states would stand to survive let alone pay salaries or employ the country’s teeming youths. Federal and state governments must strengthen the institutions and the citizens. The institutions should be made incorruptible so that citizens will redirect their allegiance and patriotism to the nation.
Practically, the new frontiers that would ensure sustainable employment for Nigeria’s teeming youths are skills acquisition in various technological and entrepreneurship related programmes. Targeted public-private partnership in industrialisation, etc, should be prioritised as well. The gains in embarking on these will be enormous as it will translate to reduction in crime and insecurity in the country.
The ILO in its campaign for a better future of work stresses that decent jobs is the panacea to the desired productivity in the world of work, and sacrosanct for a sustainable future of work. In regards to Nigeria, what must government do to reap the benefits of decent work?
Decent work and productivity definitely go hand-in-hand. There is apparently a systemic default in Nigeria’s public service work space. Workers in many cases work in environments that are not conducive, thus very poor productivity. Here, it all boils down to a weak and corrupt system. Governments across the board must step up to change the narrative for the better. The world is moving ahead, Nigeria cannot be left behind. Infrastructures and policies that are capable of propelling job creation, decent work and productivity must be the new priority of the government.
As Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Labour and Manpower Planning, what is your government doing, particularly between 2020 and 2021, in regards to job creation especially as it is apparent that crime and insecurity in the country exacerbates because of the high rate of unemployment among the youth?
All the aforementioned are why the government of Governor Emmanuel Udom, in Akwa Ibom State created the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning in the first place. His quest to change the narrative was also why he went further to prioritise programmes that aim at scaling up provision of top notch infrastructure, jobs and tangible productivity as seen today in our state. The governor is very passionate and particularly interested in skill acquisition and ICT training because the end products are new business development and job opportunities for the unemployed.
Because the governor understood the adverse effect of unemployment to the society, he sustained the state workforce, whereas some states in the country retrenched and owed workers owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and other reasons. There has been nothing like downsizing or retrenchment of workers as far as the labour force in the state is concerned.
On employment, the state government has been doing employment in the State Civil Service. I would not say we have done so much employment because of the nature of the economy we have found ourselves, but instead of downsizing, we have added. For instance, between the year 2020 and now, the government successfully recruited about 1,000 unemployed people into the State Secondary Education Board as teachers. And currently, there is another recruitment of another batch of 1,000 into the State Primary Education Board, in the teaching and staff management capacity. There are also many other employments in the state that are influenced by the state government’s partnered industries.
As a concept well targeted to cause sustainable industrialsation in the state and most importantly provide job opportunity for the teeming youth, His Excellency, Governor Emmanuel Udom, decided to bring in investors through Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, where the government will play its own role and the investors do theirs as well. Through this model, I can authoritatively tell you that about 20 functioning industries have been established in Akwa Ibom State within his six years administration. The beneficiaries of the employment provided by these industries are strictly Nigerians and primarily indigenes of Akwa Ibom State.
So cumulatively, I think Akwa Ibom government has done so much in ensuring that the unemployment level in the state is reduced through its efforts both in the government and the private sector. The efforts of the governor in this wise has sincerely had so many multiplier effects on Akwaibomites and their families.
Notable among these industries in question is Ibom Air. Ibom Air, as everybody already knows, is a product of Governor Emmanuel Udom’s governorship. It was intelligently conceived, with a solid foundation on Public Private Partnership to ensure sustainability. As can attest by Nigerians, it is flourishing, it is a success story. Interestingly today, Ibom Air has come to occupy a place of pride in the aviation industry of Nigeria. And the most satisfying gain of it, is the fact that it has created a great deal of employment opportunities both for indigenes and non indigenes of Akwa Ibom State.
The last approved minimum wage cum payment of workers salary, how well is Akwa Ibom State doing on these two?
On the issue of minimum wage payment; well other states may be owing or refuse to pay, but Akwa Ibom State government under Governor Emmanuel Udo, started paying the N30,000 minimum wage just after the Federal Government approved it.
As at today, the government is up-to-date in payment of salaries. In fact, workers in Akwa Ibom State receive their salaries even before the month ends. I can authoritatively tell you that Governor Udom is not owing one single person working in any state establishment one naira. I am saying this without the fear of being quoted. His government has never owed any worker salary since he was elected. Akwa Ibom State has moved on from the issue of paying N30,000 minimum wage and owing workers their salaries to more important issues that concern serious development and job creation. In fact, all the ventures of the state government are strategically targeted at creating job opportunities for the teeming unemployed.
Beside direct employment into the State Civil Service and other jobs generated from public private partnership industries, what else is Akwa Ibom State doing to win the war against the alarming rate of unemployment?
Earlier, I made mention of the frontiers that hold the future of not just job creation but decent jobs. I also told you that Governor Udom’s government is very particular about programmes that translate to job creation. So, it is important to note at this juncture that we take empowerment programmes through skills acquisition very seriously. This is why we do not hesitate to develop or align and execute with keen interest programmes that tend to provide jobs and development in Akwa Ibom State.
To mention a few in this direction, the Ministry of Trade and Investment in Akwa Ibom State trained about 1,000 unemployed citizens of the state on various entrepreneurial businesses and at the end of the training, the beneficiaries were empowered with starter-up packs and other tools based on the trade they chose. The belief is, by the time we train 1,000 persons and give them starter-up packs and other tools needed for them to start their own, the multiplier effect will be more jobs as they are expected to employ one or two persons to run their businesses effectively and gainfully. Going forward, the governor serially multipliers that number.
Also, the government of Akwa Ibom State is partnering with the Federal Government. We had this Extended Special Public Works (ESPW) programme where 1,000 persons were recruited from each local government of the state. We actually partnered with the Federal Government in ensuring that the programme was carried out successfully in the state. Those who were successful and serious about the programme are on their own right now, because the state government specially empowered them.
There is also another programme by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF). Every year the Industrial Training Fund will bring up programmes of training, ranging from ICT, fashion designing, cosmetology. In the last two years, my ministry, the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning, has been the contact and cooperate office on behalf of Akwa Ibom State government in collaborating with the ITF office in Akwa Ibom State. Though the number of the training beneficiaries is structured not to be large, the training averagely trains between 200 to 250 persons per year.
Importantly, the government of Akwa Ibom State ensures smooth cooperation with ITF terms for the training and makes sure that beneficiaries, after their graduation at the end of the year, are given starter-up packs to enable them commence business/work on what they have been trained on.
Also, there is an ongoing programme engineered by a consultant from Abuja on ICT in advanced training. The training is majorly on website and software development, cybersecurity, and other levels of advanced ICT knowledge. The beneficiaries of the advance training will be trained for six months. Already we started this training on October 26, 2021.
Our intention for this advanced ICT training is to breed a new crop of experts who are marketable globally. We want them to acquire advanced knowledge in this field that apparently is the new horizon in the world of work. Our target is to prepare them for decent work as the world of work seeks a better future for workers. So we believe that with such high level of technical know-how in ICT, they can easily secure better jobs with good living wages either in Akwa Ibom, elsewhere in Nigeria or outside the country.
So our plan for them is not just for jobs here in Nigeria, we are looking at international labour markets. They can even sit down here in Nigeria and compete and have employment outside the country. So at the end of the training, we are looking at various certification, international certification that will make these people saleable globally. That is exactly what we are currently coordinating.
The total number for this first phase of the advanced ICT training is 100. 100 beneficiaries who have graduated from higher institutions especially in ICT related field of studies, and the template is that they must be people who have not been fixed in any employment since their graduation. The overall intent is to scale up their skills to make them hot demands for jobs.
Also, before I left Akwa Ibom for the short assignment that brought me to Abuja, my office got a proposal from the Federal Government that they are looking for mechanical, electronic engineers and technologists to train in the power sector. Already, we are working on the proposal according to the directive from the Office of the Governor to mine. The government proposal demanded for a minimum of 35 persons from our state. We have already gotten the 35 persons and the training, I think, is a one year training programme.
So, because the Governor of Akwa Ibom State is targeting to turn the state from a civil servants economy to a private sector driven economy, he is very passionate about ventures that will pave ways for job creation and in turn make the economy of the state very viable. The governor said he is pursuing to ensure that Akwa Ibom State runs on a different template as far as the economy and job creation is concerned.
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