Nigeria’s unemployment rate to reach 33.5% by 2020 –FG
… As states’ IGR hits N324.59bn in Q4,2018
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has said that Nigeria’s unemployment rate may hit 33.5 per cent by 2020.
The minister made the revelation while declaring open a two-day workshop on “Breaking the Resilience of High Unemployment Rate in the Country”, on Thursday in Abuja.
Ngige lamented that the rapid increase in unemployment in the country was becoming quite alarming, noting that the current high unemployment rate of 23.1 per cent, and underemployment of 16.6 per cent released by the National Bureau Statistics (NBS) in its 2019 report was unacceptable.
“It is a worrisome status as the global poverty capital (World Bank, 2018); and concomitant high prevalence rate of crimes and criminality, including mass murders, insurgency, militancy, armed robbery, kidnappings and drug abuse, among others.
“As if this situation is not scary enough, it is projected that the unemployment rate for this country will reach 33.5 per cent by 2020, with consequences that are better imagined, if the trend is not urgently reversed.’ ‘The Minister said
He, however, noted that Nigeria has not been resting on its oars over the years in terms of efforts to curb the unemployment problem.
Ngige said that various government social intervention programmes targeted at reducing youth unemployment and eradicating poverty have been implemented by different administrations since Nigeria gained independence.
The minister also said that available records showed that from 1972 to date, about 14 different programmes have been implemented, including the National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPP), implemented between 1972 and 1973 in a bid to reduce unemployment.
Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for fourth quarter 2018 was N324.59 billion compared to N264.34 billion recorded in third quarter of the same year.
NBS disclosed this in the IGR at State Level for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 posted on its website.
The Bureau said that the figure (N324.59 billion), indicated a positive growth of 22.79 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 24.82 per cent year-on-year
It said 31 states and the FCT recorded growth in IGR while five states recorded decline in their IGR quarter-on-quarter at the end of fourth quarter, 2018.The report said the net Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocation in fourth quarter 2018, was put at N2.56 trillion.
The report however said the total revenue available to the states including the FCT was N3.74 trillion in the quarter under review, adding that the value of foreign debt stood at $4.23 billion dollars while domestic debt was N3.85 trillion at the end of the year 2018.
The states IGR data was computed by the NBS and the Joint Tax Board from official records and submissions by the 36 State Boards of Internal Revenue.
These submissions were then validated and authenticated by the Joint Tax Board chaired by the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
The board has the NBS and the 36 State Boards of Internal Revenue as members
Ngige listed others to include the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), which has been ongoing since 2017, embedded in the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020.
He noted that despite all these initiatives, Nigeria’s unemployment rate and poverty levels are on steady paths of growth, indicating high resilience against the intervention efforts.
The minister wondered why some of the intervention efforts were not yielding expected results. “What is government and other stakeholders not doing right? What changes are needed in the policies, plans and strategies? What action areas need priority attention? What roles should different stakeholders play and what other options are not being exploited?
“Why do we employ expatriates for jobs Nigerians can do or why can´t Nigerians do these jobs? Why do we have deficits in housing, water, sanitation, food, entertainment facilities, health care, and education, among others?
“How do we deploy our population of productive age to fill the skills gaps needed for our national development? How do we break the resilience of high unemployment rate in the country?’’
He said these are some of the questions that triggered new thoughts and concepts that led to series of activities that preceded the workshop.
Ngige said that the workshop was aimed at presenting the outcome of some of government efforts and the commencement of another phase of the processes.
He, however, called for a collaborative mechanism that would yield desired results while assuring that the recommendations from the workshop would receive prompt and sustained attention.
Also speaking, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr William Alo, said the workshop was aimed at examining issues around the persistent high unemployment rate in Nigeria.
Alo said this was with a view to making concrete recommendations on how to tackle the menace.
“This workshop is very important to the Ministry of Labour and Employment due to the direct relevance of the theme to the ministry’s mandate. However, the fact remains that the consequences of high unemployment rate in Nigeria affect every one of us as individuals and as members of the Nigerian society.
“The objectives of this workshop are, therefore, to present the findings of the survey on how to break the resilience of high unemployment rate in Nigeria to the peer community.
“To stimulate actions towards exploiting untapped available options for massive job creations; to chart the way forward on immediate next steps that would yield measurable results.”
Country Director, International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Nigeria, Mr. Dennis Zulu, said unemployment is a major concern to the organisation, especially in Nigeria.
“So, we believe, therefore, that if Nigeria addresses the issue of unemployment, it will go a long way to address the whole problem facing Africa to that extent.
Credit: Thisday
