FG to engage private sector on economic development

THE commitment of  the Federal Government towards engaging the Private Sector to turn around the economy has been visible in its recent Reforms Agenda.The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu disclosed this in Kaduna at the National Directorate of Employment Special Day at the  recently concluded 2011 Kaduna International Trade Fair.According to him, the implementation of the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme which has led to massive training of the former militants in various vocational and entrepreneurial skills for self employment has helped in checkmating the youth restiveness in the Niger Delta Region.Chief Wogu also noted that with the release of the N70 billion interventions fund for the revitalisation of the comatose textile industry in the country, a lot of unemployed persons in the country would be gainfully employed.He disclosed that the government was also making efforts to review the National Employment Policy Framework to address the fundamental challenges of unemployment and also put in place regulatory mechanisms to address employment creation in the country.The Minister re-emphasised that government was paying due attention to issues of good governance, value orientation, transparency and accountability, as well as political commitment to job creation.I therefore call on investors both local and international, to take advantage of the liberal policies of government to enhance their business enterprises so that employment opportunities could be further created,he said.The minister disclosed that a total of 170, 000 unemployed school leavers, graduates of tertiary institutions and retired workers had so far benefitted from various programmes of the Directorate between June, 2009 and December, 2010, some of which are on-going.In his speech, the Director-General of NDE, Mallam Abubakar Mohammed stated that the Directorate had implemented its Mass Employment Creation Programmes through the efficacy of training intervention in vocational skills development, entrepreneurship development, provision of transient jobs and training in agricultural practices in tune with the theme of the fair which is National Energy, Road Map for Nigerias Growth and Development.Mallam Abubakar Mohammed noted that the Directorate has continued to introduce new programmes as well as upgrade existing ones to meet new challenges of unemployment in the country.He added that the Directorate had initiated strategies for the empowerment of the disabled persons and about 650 of such physically challenged persons and other vulnerable groups had been trained and resettled in various trades across the country.
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