1.6 MILLION NEW JOBS IN 2013: Give us Evidence – Nigeria’s unemployed youth to Okonjo-Iweala

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Obviously doubtful of the veracity of the claim by Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister for the economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala that 1.6 million jobs were created in 2013, a bodycomprising unemployed graduates & other youth in Nigeria has requested for verifiable information.

The Adebisi Thomas Adewole Foundation, ATA Foundation, an avenue through which unemployed graduates and other unemployed youth of Nigeria demand for their rights, aired their grievances and request in a letter to the Minister.They justified their request by citing the Freedom of Information , FOI, law,

Excerpts of their letter signed by Adebisi Adewole, the Chairman of the foundation.went thus: “In 2013 as reported by the Nigerian Tribune on 17th of September, 2013, the World Bank put the unemployment rate in Nigeria at 22 per cent and the youth unemployment rate at 38 per cent. The Team Leader and representative of World Bank Country representative, Professor Foluso Okunmadewa, made this disclosure at the Youth Employment and Social Support Operation (YESSO) organised by Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P), in Abuja,”.

The group is unhappy that whereas the  state of unemployment in the country as deduced from the reports of the National Planning Commission is at variance with the oft trumpeted ‘official’ position on jobs created.

“This conclusion was drawn after the National Planning Commission presented the 2011 Performance Monitoring Report on Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Abuja on 3rd of October, 2013. The report indicated that the unemployment rate in Nigeria in 2010 was 21.1 per cent, a figure that increased to 23.9 per cent in 2011,” the group said.

According to the foundation: “ThisDay on AllAfica.com and the Nigerian Vanguard Newspaper both related on December 18, 2013 that the National Bureau of Statistics said that 54 per cent of Nigerian Youths were unemployed in 2012. This was contained in a report issued in Abuja by NBS in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Youths Development in December of 2013″, it added.

The letter concluded that “We look forward to receiving the required information promptly and, in any event, within 7 days of the receipt of this application as provided for in the Freedom of Information Act, 2011,”.

POSER: From your experience and assessment do you really believe that as much as 1.6 million jobs were created in 2013? Please send your views.

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