‘We’re working on youth employment for national development’

The Chief of the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme, Dr Funmilayo Oyefusi, has said that they are working assiduously on youth employment as well as cultivating a generation of leaders equipped and sharpened to contribute to national development.

Funmilayo stated this at a town hall meeting in Abuja, explaining that the NJFP initiative was born from the dynamic partnership between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the United Nations Development Programme, and is co-funded by the European Union.

She said, “Since we began it three years ago, we have matched 418 fellows with about 51 organisations in the country,” adding that the empowerment initiative was designed to address the boundless potential of our Nigerian youths and create pathways for more engagement in the economy.

She said, “We have helped 250 fellows to be engaged in the North Central region, comprising Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Kwara, and the FCT, while we have registered 256 experts, equipping them with world-class practical knowledge and relevant skills.

“As a Talent Management Company (TMC) and implementing partner since July 2024, the Programme (NJFP) was initiated by the Office of the Vice President to address unemployment by connecting talented graduates with local job opportunities to strengthen their passion for global solutions.”

In an interview with journalists, the Programme Manager, Yomi Olufiade, noted that youth unemployment has reached an alarming rate in the country, attributing it to the poor education system that leaves some graduates at home without gainful employment.

He explained that they are not giving host organisations any money, but are matching talented individuals with them so that the graduates can build capacity under the system and structures, while the European Union and United Nations Development Programme pay a stipend of N100,000 to them.

“There are ethics in the workplace for this particular project, which lasts one year, and the project is renewed every year. We just came on board in July, and it will end in June 2025. We are hopeful to renew the contract with our international partners so that we can continue the project in the country.”

Olufiade, therefore, stressed that young graduates who have finished national service should enrol in the programme, adding that they have registered 9,000 of them since its inception and have a central database with the UNDP.