Buhari has done well in job creation – Minister

Despite the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, the country’s minister of labour (state), Festus Keyamo, on Sunday said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, in the last five years, has done well in job creation.

Mr Keyamo made this known while appearing on Channels Television “Sunday Politics” programme.

Responding to questions by the anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, on how well the government has kept its job creation promise, Mr Keyamo said his principal “has performed well”.

He argued: “The Buhari administration has performed well in its job creation promise. The basic thrust of this government in job creation is to ‘skill up’ people so they can be self-employed and create jobs.”

Mr Keyamo argued that “what makes the efforts of the government unnoticed is because Nigeria’s population grows faster than the rate of jobs”.

“The population grows faster than the rate of job creation. On job creation, we have done creditably well,” he added.

Also, speaking on the efforts made to cushion the effect of coronavirus on workers, the senior lawyer said: “The FG has made a special fund available to cushion the effect of COVID-19. People at the grassroots; the unskilled labourers are a big part of the economy.”

As of February, the President of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Saratu Aliyu, disclosed that 23 million Nigerians are presently unemployed. The number is believed to be much higher now with the numbing impact of COVID-19 on the economy.

Also, the National Bureau of Statistic (NBS) data on unemployment in 2019 shows that the country had hit the 23 million mark.

There have been various reports on the alarming rate of unemployment in Nigeria. For instance, PREMIUM TIMES also reported how SMB Intelligence reported how the rising levels of youth unemployment is a major factor responsible for the rise in kidnap cases in Nigeria.