Job Creation Committee Underway - FG

Source: EWACHE AJEFU, ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF - thewillnigeria.com
PHOTO: FINANCE MINISTER OLUSEGUN AGANGA.
PHOTO: FINANCE MINISTER OLUSEGUN AGANGA.


ABUJA, July 09, (THEWILL) - As part of efforts to check the growing rate of unemployment in the country, the Federal Government is to set up a private sector committee on job creation.


Chairman of the National Economic Management Team and Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga who has marked unemployment as one of his major areas of intervention, announced today in Abuja.


The main objective of the committee, according to the Minister, is to work with the Federal Government to develop an Action Plan that will encompass practical and specific interventions for ensuring increased job creation in the country.


This plan will leverage on existing reports on employment generation in Nigeria and make practical recommendations based on what other countries including developed, emerging and developing countries have done to ensure increased job creation, with a view to developing a pool of possible policy interventions and incentives that will create an environment that is conducive for job creation.


The committee, to be inaugurated on Monday July 12, 2010, has six weeks to submit its report.


According to Aganga, "the setting up of the committee became necessary based on the fact that despite the country’s remarkable growth in non-oil GDP in recent years, unemployment rates remain fairly high".


Explaining further, Aganga said, "While some sectors such as Construction, Telecommunications, Finance, Information Technology and Services Sectors have experienced substantial growth, other sectors including Manufacturing, which have strong potentials to generate increased employment, have declined considerably. It is important that we have inclusive growth which job creation entails, otherwise the growth would be alien to the average man".


The committee is chaired by Business Mogul, Aliko Dangote, and will include Ibukun Awosika, Maryam Uwais, Albert Okumagba, Sam Ohuabunwa, Ademola Oyejide, Folusho Phillips, Stella Okoli and Bashir Ibrahim.


Others include Omobola Johnson, Bukar Tijani, Ausbeth Ajagu, Tunde Obileye, Ernest Ndukwe, Tonye Cole, Joseph Makoju and Yemisi Ransome Kuti.


The minister assured that the findings of the committee will be presented to the Executive Council of the Federation for immediate consideration and action.