By Joan Nwagwu
The Federal Government has called for stakeholders involvement in the creation of 2.5 million jobs for its teeming unemployed youth, through innovative employment, skills development and entrepreneurship initiative.
President Bola Tinubu made the call during the official inauguration of the Labour Employment and Empowerment Programme (LEEP) on Tuesday in Abuja, organised by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Tinubu, represented by the Vice President, Sen Kashim Shettima, said involvement of stakeholders was imperative, as what constituted a job was being redefined and machines are replacing hands and artificial intelligence challenging intellects.
According to him, LEEP is a well-considered response to a pressing national need.
“As jobs become increasingly vulnerable to technological disruption, our duty is not to lament but to prepare.
“LEEP aims to provide comprehensive training that equips our people with the right skills to compete and contribute in today’s global economy. This intervention isn’t just about creating jobs.
“It is about transformation. LEEP targets all sectors of the economy, including the expanding Gig economy, and leverages technology to connect employers with a skilled and ready workforce.
“But to succeed, we must upskill and reskill. We must prepare our citizens not only for the jobs that exist, but for the opportunities yet to be imagined.
“The strength of this nation has always been its people – their ingenuity, and their will to rise against the odds.
“This programme was inspired by the need to carry all parts of the country along, beginning from our six geo-political zones. We are laying the foundation for inclusive progress.
“Yet, government cannot do this alone. I call upon the private sector, civil society, trade unions, and our international partners to join us.
“We must create a workforce that is not just employable, but empowered. This is a collective assignment,” he said.
President Tinubu added that LEEP was the fulfilment of the promise he made to build a national ecosystem where every Nigerian worker could reach their full potential, and where technology enhanced not threatens our labour market.
Tinubu noted that the road ahead may be challenging, but stressed that collective effort, determination, and faith was a shared potential to success.
Also, Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, who conceived the initiative, said LEEP was part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Onyejeocha said Nigeria’s unemployment challenge was not just a statistic, but presented a danger to the people’s collective future.
“The numbers speak for themselves and they demand urgent, coordinated action.
“With LEEP, we are setting a clear national target: to directly and indirectly create at least 2.5 million sustainable jobs within two years, while laying the foundation for long-term growth and productivity.
“But make no mistake, LEEP is not just a programme; it is an institutional shift.
“A signal that the Ministry of Labour and Employment is stepping forward to play its full constitutional role: training, upskilling, coordinating, and connecting Nigerians to meaningful work,” she said.
Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, who is also the Chairman, Progressive Governors Forum, commended the Ministry of Labour and Employment for the initiative.
According to him, he sees this programme as one of the finest programmes to be initiated by the government, and pleaded that from conception to implementation the programme should be deployed in the same spirit.
“I have seen the general principle of the concept note, very robust, but I want to advise that to seamlessly implement this program, the National Committee should create a linkage.
“I am also of the view that both skilled and under-skilled labour should be factored in. I am also of the view that the National Committee should create a linkage.
“At the end of the day, if we religiously implement this programme, I am almost certain that just like the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) said unemployment will be reduced drastically.
“Criminality will be reduced drastically, our citizens will be engaged and at the end of the day, the expected results and desirables will be realised,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Joe Ajaero, President of NLC, who spoke on behalf of organised labour, said that the trade movement identified with the initiative 100 percent if it could be properly implemented.
Ajaero called for proper implementation of the initiative, while adding that the input of the labour movement was important in varying out the policy.
“I pray that it will be a programme that will bring sustainable jobs, not casual jobs,” he said.