774 000 Jobs: Youth Body berates Keyamo committee over Non-Inclusion of SSA Youth and Students to Mr. President, Others.

By Nigerian Youth Congress
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The Nigerian Youth Congress have for the purpose of transparency, accountability and inclusiveness berated the Honourable Minister of State for Labour, Mr Festus Keyamo SAN over his deliberate exclusion of the Office of the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth and Students Affairs and the Nigerian Youth Congress Representatives in the Inter-Ministerial Committee his Ministry earlier set up for the Recruitment of the 774,000 youths that President Muhammadu Buhari led administration directed to be carried out by their Ministry.

In a statement jointly signed and made available to the media by the Chairman Governing Board, Dr Mallam Yakubu Shendam and President of the Nigerian Youth Congress, Blessing Akinlosotu, the NYC insisted that the Inter-Ministerial Committee set up by Festus Keyamo SAN does not reflect the wishes and aspirations of the Youth in the country.

It is a statement of fact that youths make up a large percentage of the population of the nation and there are those who interface with students daily. It is inappropriate and unfortunate that The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth and Students Affairs, Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, the Youth body is sufficiently excluded which is not proper for the transparency earlier stated by the Honourable Minister.

He said, how can a committee be set up to recruit youth and the Office of the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth and Students Affairs and the Representatives of the Youth Body is not carried along. We want to believe that this is an oversight which needed to be looked into immediately.

In his words "How can you recruit Youths without the input of the Ministry in charge of Youth Development in the Country, without the input of the person in charge of youth for Mr President which is the Office of the SSA to the President on Youth and Students Affairs and the Representatives of the Youth Body. It is like trying to recruit Doctors and Nurses without the input of the Ministry of Health and the Representatives of the Nigeria Medical Association or trying to recruit a Lawyer without the input of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Nigeria Bar Association."

We strongly call on the Honourable Minister of Labour in the person of Dr. Chris Ngige to immediately intervene in this issue and incorporate the Youth Structure, Office of the SSA to the President on Youth and Students Affairs and Office of the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development for proper synergy. Any attempt to do otherwise will make the Nigeria Youths believe such action is inappropriate, and not transparent.

We also call on Mr. President to call Keyamo and his Inter-Ministerial Committee to order before the Youth of this Country will Mobilize against the Committee.

Reacting in the same direction the Board Chairman said; “Our people are not happy and we strongly believe that proper incorporation of the Youth Structure in the Country will bring sanity to the Process and make the Youths believe that they truly want to recruit and not the deceit of the past”.

To cap it all, the President of the Nigerian Youth Congress said that the youths await a positive response on this matter.