- By Chinedu Echianu
The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment have called for stronger coordination, policy coherence and sustained commitment to create better and more sustainable employment opportunities for Nigerian youths.
The call was made on Monday in Abuja during a consultation with Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on the review and revision of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP).
The consultation, held at the United Nations House, was convened by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development with technical support from the ILO through the Strengthening Employment and Employability Systems in Nigeria (SEESIN) project under the GIZ-SKYE Programme.
ILO Country Director, Vanessa Phala, represented by the National Project Coordinator of the SEESIN Project, Aishatu Dirisu, said the review offered an opportunity to develop an evidence-based, inclusive and implementation-focused framework capable of delivering measurable improvements in youth employment and decent work.
She said the exercise was coming against the backdrop of persistent labour-market challenges, including skills mismatches, widespread informality, difficult school-to-work transitions, limited access to finance and inadequate decent employment opportunities.
According to her, young women, persons with disabilities, rural youths and young people not in employment, education or training remain particularly affected.
Dirisu, however, identified emerging sectors such as the digital and green economies, artificial intelligence, creative industries, renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, manufacturing, agro-processing, tourism, the care economy and platform-based work as areas with significant potential for job creation.
She said the review would draw lessons from the implementation of NIYEAP 2021–2024, identifying successes and gaps to inform a more coherent and results-oriented framework for 2025–2030.
Also speaking, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, represented by the Assistant Director, Employment and Wages Department, Cecilia Uche Williams, described the review as timely, given the unemployment, underemployment, skills gaps, informality and unequal access to jobs confronting Nigerian youths.
Dingyadi commended the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and the ILO for adopting an inclusive approach, stressing that tackling youth unemployment would require coordinated action rather than isolated interventions.
He called for stronger collaboration among government institutions, employers, workers, the private sector, development partners, financial institutions and young people.
“Creating jobs for young people is important, but we must also ensure that those jobs provide fair opportunities, appropriate working conditions, rights at work, social protection and pathways for sustainable career development,” he said.
The Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan is a national framework designed to tackle youth unemployment, underemployment and skills gaps while promoting sustainable job creation and economic inclusion.
The consultation brought together representatives of relevant MDAs, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, development partners and other key stakeholders.
