Plans to sever 100 million Nigerians from poverty are feasible, says the FG

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

According to the Federal Government, if all parties involved efficiently fulfill their respective tasks, the goal of raising 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030 can be achieved.
This was said by Ms. Kachollum Daju, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, to reporters on Sunday in Abuja.

Earlier this year, President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly outlined the government’s aim to help 100 million Nigerians escape poverty by 2030.

Daju stated that until the objective was accomplished, the government would not rest on its oars and that key stakeholders in the private sector, especially development partners, continued to play an indispensable role.

She said that the government’s Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) were making great efforts to carry out the mandate to free the 100 million people from the cycle of poverty.

She claimed that in order to assist those who are working and those looking for work, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched a data bank known as the Labour Market Information System (LMIS).

She claimed that there are numerous thematic areas in the new National Development Plan 2021–2025. I’m sure you are aware of this.

“It is multi-sectoral, and several sectors will work together to ensure that this is accomplished. It is not only the Ministry of Labour and Employment, or the federal government, as it were.

We cannot all rely on the government, thus the private sector is meant to be very important.

We will collaborate, because the Ministry of Labour has numerous departments and agencies that deal with employment skills.

We will enhance job matching through the National Electronic Labour Exchange (NELEX), in addition to the LMIS, she added.

It is a place where employers and job seekers are matched. Although it has been happening, it seems that many Nigerians are unaware of it.

The ministry is improving that, and we’re also attempting to build more job centers across the country.

Approximately 16 work centers have been established by the Ministry of Labor, according to Daju, who added that the intention was to have a center in each of the country’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to her, more job centers are being planned across the country in order to better serve all 774 local government districts.

She continued by saying that the government has an issue with the informal sector, which is why the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) was established.

“A huge percentage of individuals work in the unorganized sector, like craftsmen, who are not insured, but thanks to the recently passed National Health Insurance Act, insurance will now also cover the unorganized sector,” she said.

In order to ensure that unemployment was minimized through empowerment and vocation skills, among other things, Daju said that the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has many initiatives that cut across all sectors.

Yes, I will admit that the government’s ambitions to minimize youth unemployment and poverty by 2030 are real, she said.