The
Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Wednesday, said that
22,000 Nigerian graduates benefited from the Federal Government’s
Graduate Internship Programme.
In a statement issued in Abuja by
her Special Assistant, Paul Nwabuikwu, the minister said the programme
was meant to increase the employability of the graduates by enhancing
their skills.
“The scheme targets up to 50,000 unemployed
graduates in the 36 states of the federation and FCT. No fewer than
22,000 graduates have so far been placed on the programme,”
Okonjo-Iweala said.
She noted that the current administration has
tried to ensure that jobs were created to unemployed youths nationwide,
and that was why it ensured an average of about 1.4 million jobs were
being provided per year, as it drives quality growth in key sectors of
the economy.
The sectors highlighted by the minister include
agriculture, financial services, and the creative Industries such as the
Nollywood.
Further in the statement, the minister noted that the
Community Services Scheme under SURE-P was developed to empower young
unskilled Nigerians, women and people with disabilities.
“No
fewer than 120,000 Nigerians, mostly young workers, have been engaged
under the programme across the country,” said Okonjo-Iweala.
She
also reminded Nigerians that the government borrowed in 2010 to pay an
unprecedented 53.7 percent wage increase to all categories of federal
government employees as demanded by labour.
“The total wage bill
rose from N857 billion in 2009 to about N1.4 trillion in 2010 and as a
result, domestic borrowing increased from N200 billion in 2007 to about
N1.1 trillion in 2010 to meet the wage payments. However, the current
administration had remained prudent with regards to debt and borrowing.
According
to her, the Economic Management Team not only looked at debt to GDP
ratio, where Nigeria had one of the lowest in the world at 12.51
percent, but also looked at debt service to revenues.
“That is why in spite of the rebasing and a larger GDP, the administration has taken a prudent approach to borrowing.
“The prudent approach helped to drive down domestic borrowing from N1.1 trillion in 2010 to N642 billion in 2014.
“In
fact for the first time in our nation’s borrowing history, we managed
to retire N75 billion worth of domestic bonds in 2013,” she said.
The
minister therefore assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would
continue to work hard to ensure inclusive economic growth and
development.
She also urged the citizenry to support all the
efforts of the Federal Government, adding that it was working in the
interest of the common man.