Ministry, ILO partner to tackle youth unemployment

31.03.2008

THE Federal Ministry of Youth Development and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) are partnering to refine the national youth employment action plan, which was recently adopted by the National Council on Youth Development at its meeting in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

A statement signed by Mr. Olawale Rasheed, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Youth Development, said the minister, Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, was scheduled to meet the ILO technical team tomorrow to examine the draft youth employment action plan and decide on areas of collaboration before the eventual presentation to the Federal Executive Council, through President Umaru Yar’Adua.

“The meeting is important as the minister is eager to submit the action plan to the President for neccesary processing and authorisation in line with the seven-point agenda of the administration.

“The plan is the first of its kind since independence and its intention is to comprehensively address youth joblessness in the country. It was debated and adopted at the Calabar meeting which involved all commissioners of youth in all the states of the federation.

“The meeting with the ILO is to technically fine-tune the document and tap from the agency’s wealth of experience in that field,“ the statement said.

It added that “the plan contains several job creation schemes to be administered as a national programme by all levels of governments. It is in compliance with previous resolutions of the United Nations (UN) as well as the decisions of the ILO conference held in Addis Ababa in February, 2008.”