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FG, World Bank to provide jobs for 10m youths in 5yrs
The Federal Government has sad it will collaborate with the World Bank to provide decent jobs directly or indirectly to no fewer than 10 million youths within the next five years.
Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, communicated this when he hosted the World Bank team lead by Mr Maheshwor Shrestha, World Bank Economist, on Thursday in Abuja.
Olawande said that forum would enable him to update the team on the various activities and engagements of the ministry in the past months.
“The focus of the ministry has been to achieve the establishment of a strong coordinated mechanism for all youth intervention focused on economic inclusion and we want data to inform all we do.
”Provide decent jobs directly or indirectly for at least, 10 million youths within the next five years and ensure that every youth is proficient in at least, two income generating skills.
“Expand our credit support funds by 50 million dollars to reach more young people, including businesses led by going women, people with disabilities and young people in rural areas.’’
The minister said that the current reality showed that 60 million youths were in the labour bracket and an additional 5.5 million would join the labour market every year.
He said that almost 58 per cent of Nigeria’s informal workforce was young people.
“Despite these data, we see these opportunities for the development of the country if harnessed effectively,” he said.
Olawande said that the challenges hinged on deficient skills for job market, relevant vocational training and lack of access to capital and funds safety with infrastructural deficit.
In his speech, Shrestha said that no fewer than 60 million youths in Nigeria were underage at the moment.
According to him, it means that Nigeria needs to create enough opportunities for a huge pool of youths that are already there and that will be joining the way.
He said that every year, 5 and a half million would reach paid working age.
Shrestha said that only seven per cent of the youths were engaged in paid jobs.
“And even those are not permanent jobs; there are still informal jobs.
“So, if we look at overall, 93 per cent of the youths are working in an informal sector.’’
According to him, the bank is figuring out how to improve safety net support towards such people.
“What we are doing now is to think about how the framework applies at the state level.
“So, I think we are starting to work with the Governors’ Board of Secretaries to see how this approach applies at the state levels,” he said.(NAN)
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Abubakar Yunusa
Nyesom Wike has described talks about a coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu as not sincere and believes those behind it are doing so for selfish reasons.
Wike, the Minister of the FCT, said this in Abuja on Friday during a media chat, accusing the masterminds of running away from issues bedevilling the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s main opposition party.
He said, “those who are looking for a coalition are for selfish interests, the likes of Atiku and other people, which coalition, with whom?
“Why not come in to repair your party? Everybody wants to become president of the country, nobody wants to say, look, let me build our party so that at the end of the day, our party will be in a formidable position as an opposition party to take over power.
“You don’t do that, the only thing you want to do is let me find a way; how I will be the one, and if that does not happen, then it’s to your tent, oh Israel,” the immediate past governor of Rivers state said.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, are among political heavyweights planning to float a coalition to dislodge President Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 election.
That push has continued to make headlines in the country in the past months, but Wike said those behind it, especially members of the main opposition PDP, should fix their party instead.
Wike criticised Atiku, the arrowhead of the coalition movement, saying the ex-VP is about to make the mistakes that led to the PDP’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election.
“You make the mistake yesterday, you want to repeat the same mistake today, tomorrow you make the same mistake, and then you come out to say you were rigged out, who rigged you out? You’ve already rigged yourself by causing crisis,” Wike said.
The minister, who is a member of the PDP, also said the party is not ready for the next presidential election scheduled for 2027.
“The PDP is not ready for the 2027 election. It is very obvious. For instance, I have an examination and I am going to class to read. Indeed, am I reading? Am I studying? You don’t need to deceive anybody that you are reading. You are only trying to read so that people will see that you have carried your bag to class,” he said.
“That is the situation of the PDP. So, they cannot say for sure that they are ready for 2027. Power struggle cannot help the party.”
A prominent Northern Christian cleric, Isa El-Buba, has raised alarm over what he described as an ongoing genocide in Plateau State.
El-Buba alleged that foreign terrorists are colluding with some local herders to violently displace communities and occupy their ancestral lands.
“These are not the local herders that we used to know. These are Fulani terrorists who target communities. When these terrorists come in, they connive with some of the locals.
”They give them information. They come in from outside and they invade,” he said.
Speaking during an appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Friday, a socio-political programme on Channels TV, the cleric strongly supported the recent assertion by Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, that the attacks in the state amount to genocide.
The Jos-based cleric, who hails from Borno State, while speaking on the recent killings on the Plateau, argued that the repeated and coordinated nature of the violence indicates a well-orchestrated plan to destabilise the region and ultimately reconfigure its demographic and territorial identity.
“Just like the Governor said: it’s a genocide. It’s not something that just happened. It’s been happening with several attacks in the past and recently, what has happened on the Plateau,” El-Buba said.
“You know very well that Plateau is cosmopolitan. It houses virtually all Nigerians. And if anything goes wrong with Plateau, everything goes wrong with Nigeria.”
He warned that Nigeria’s unity could be in jeopardy if urgent intervention is not undertaken.
“If there is no intervention, there is a bleak future for this country will stand together. We are actually in a very serious time in the history of this country.”
The cleric pointed to the disturbing reality that over 60 communities in Plateau have been attacked, their inhabitants killed or displaced, properties destroyed, and the attackers now living in the conquered communities.
“In some of the communities that were attacked—over 60 of them—the people who attacked those communities displaced the people, killed them, destroyed their properties and now occupy those communities. This tells you a lot about what these people are up to,” he stated.
He further alleged that the attackers feel emboldened due to perceived protection during the previous administration.
“In the past administration, these people felt it was their government. They felt protected. These people move with arms. I raised an alarm, called on the then president to speak to his own people in his own dialect.”
He emphasised that the violence is not being perpetrated by the traditional Fulani herders known to local communities, but by armed, foreign Fulani extremists with a deliberate plan.
According to El-Buba, the goal of these attacks is not random violence, but a larger ideological agenda to seize land and permanently displace the original owners.
“They have a programme, a plan, a mandate, and that mandate is that they must occupy and send the owners of the land away.”
His comments have sparked renewed calls for federal authorities to act decisively to restore peace, justice, and secure land rights in Plateau and other affected regions.
El-Buba concluded with a passionate appeal for national unity and decisive leadership to prevent further bloodshed and protect Nigeria’s fragile cohesion.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday asked Christians in the country to use the Holy Week and Easter to reflect on the enduring values of sacrifice, redemption, love, and hope.
The President made the call in a message he signed on Good Friday, two days to the Easter celebrations.
According to Tinubu, he was saddened by the recent insecurity in the country. He also directed security operatives to decisively end the insecurity without delay.
“The recent tragic incidents and the loss of lives in some parts of our country deeply saddened me. I understand the pain and fear these incidents have caused. Let me assure you that my administration’s resolve to restore peace and security remains unshakable. Forces of evil will never prevail over our country,” Tinubu said.
“I have given clear directives to the Armed Forces and all relevant security agencies to end insecurity decisively and without delay. With the unwavering courage and commitment of our gallant men and women in uniform, we are turning the tide and making steady progress in reclaiming peace and stability.
“As President of our blessed nation, I draw inspiration from this timeless message of hope and renewal. I remain steadfast in my commitment to delivering the promise of a Renewed Hope, a better, more just, and prosperous Nigeria for all.
“The Holy Week, which spans Palm Sunday through Holy Thursday and Good Friday and culminates in Easter Sunday, calls us to reflect deeply on the enduring values of sacrifice, redemption, love, and hope.”
The President also expressed gratitude to Nigerians for their “patience and resilience as our economy begins to show encouraging signs of recovery.”
“We understand the economic challenges many of you are facing, and we are working tirelessly to restore investor confidence, stabilise key sectors, and build an inclusive economy that serves the interests of all Nigerians.
“During this Easter, we join the global Christian community in thanking God for Pope Francis’s recovery. We pray that his renewed strength continues to inspire his leadership and service to humanity.
“I earnestly pray that Easter’s spirit fills every heart and home with renewed faith in the immense possibilities ahead of us as a nation. Just as Christ triumphed over death, so too shall our country triumph over every challenge we face. The present moment may be cloudy, but it will usher in a glorious day,” he added.