Ministry partners African Development Bank on job creation

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, has said that government was focused on finding ways to engage Nigerian youths productively.

A statement signed by Mr Lere-Adams Adjobone, Director, Press, in Abuja on Monday, said the minister made the statement when he received a delegation from the African Development Bank (AFDB).

Dare said that plans had been ongoing with the bank toward making the youths employable and were equipped with skills necessary for the 21st century.

According to him, the plans are anchored on a ‘DEEL’ scheme – Digital Literacy and Skills Acquisition Programme, Entrepreneurship, Employment as well as Leadership and Mentoring.

He said that the initial worry over youth development funding triggered his administration’s search for partnerships to achieve its objectives.

“From the point of the mandate that we have as a ministry, the youth bond in this country worries us, primarily because this ministry has an unfunded mandate when it comes to youths development.

“Our National Youth Policy (NYP), gives us eleven thematic areas – youth and sports development, youth and science and technology, youth and technology, among others.

”Looking at all these and in view of our budget, we had to resort to aggressive search for partners,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the goals of the DEEL initiative would be achieved as soon as the programme kicked off.

The statement quoted the delegation as pledging that the bank would work with the ministry to foster development in ICT, agriculture and industrialisation.