Skills dearth responsible for rising unemployment – ITF DG

In this interview with IFEANYI ONUBA, the Director-General, Industrial Training Fund,  Joseph Ari, talks about the soaring unemployment among graduates, and a lot of opportunities that exist in professional trade areas, among others

The ITF conducted an assessment of skills gap in six critical sectors of the economy. What were the findings from that assessment? On the assessment of skill gaps in six critical sectors of the national economy, what we did as an institution was to let other players in the industry be aware of where the gap exists.

This is what I refer to as underemployment. From the assessment, we were able to find that under-employment was even very devastating to our national life. In one of the six sectors, construction, we found that 19.7 per cent gap exists.  That is, jobs of 19.7 per cent are available in the construction industry, but we do not have qualified Nigerians with the requisite skills to fill those gaps.

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Yankari Reserve targets 50,000 visitors

 More visitors are expected at the Yankari Game Reserve in Bauchi State before the end of the year as the managers of the first West African game reserve are reportedly intensifying efforts to improve some of its facilities and side attractions. This is coming as tourists relayed their recent experiences of the reserve and marveled at the exciting Wikki Warm Spring, with crystal clear water from a natural source and its constant temperature even with change in weather.

Inside Yankari Reserve: Notwithstanding the Boko Haram scare with other forms of insecurity in that area of the country, a report which the management said was being exaggerated, at least 50,000 visitors are targeted to eperience the new Yankari Game Reserve.

The 50,000 targeted visitors, according to the Acting General Manager, Yankari Game Reserve, Mohammed Ladan, is about 71 per cent of the number of tourists that visited the reserve last year. He recalled that in 2017, “we had 20,152 tourists’ influx into Yankari but there was an increase in the year 2018 whereby it increased to 29,215 visitors.

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Role of technology in alleviating poverty

 Africa is a rather complex continent and this stems from many factors. How can one relate to the fact that a continent is so blessed, yet so terribly poor? I write this piece with a very heavy heart considering the fact that innocent Africans are being killed and maimed by fellow Africans for reasons one cannot justify. How can it be explained in today’s world that people are being burned alive because of one suspicion or the other? It is indeed hurtful and I call on the South African authorities to nip this in the bud because no one has the monopoly of violence.

That said, it all comes back to one fact – majority of Africans are poor and it is high time leaders from various African countries sat down to address the issue of poverty. The African continent, with a massive population of over one billion people has more than 500 million of this number living below the global poverty line of $1.25 a day. The first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 1) talks about eradicating extreme poverty by 2030. However, available data does not show that Africa is winning the war against poverty.

The burning question that should be on the mind of any concerned Nigerian is how do we change the poverty narrative for Nigeria? In my case, I simply ask myself, what are some of the practical ways that we can apply technology towards getting more people out of poverty? This is because the high levels of poverty simply mean we are seating on multiple kegs of gun powder and we must collectively do the needful or be ready to face the consequences.

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Minimum wage: NECA seeks payment for junior workers

 The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association has urged the Federal Government to begin the payment of the national minimum wage to junior workers and those in the low income category while negotiations on consequential salary adjustments are ongoing.

Director-General, NECA, Mr Timothy Olawale, made the plea in an exclusive interview with our correspondent. He urged the labour union and the government to come to a compromise and reach a middle ground on the minimum wage negotiations so that the people on the lower rung of the ladder would not suffer.

Olawale said, “If the two parties cannot reach a decision, the government should go ahead and implement minimum wage payment to junior staff. Then, whenever they reach an agreement, the difference can be paid to those concerned. “Even the Bible says delayed expectation makes the heart weary. God forbid, some of them may start losing their lives because of the difficulty in surviving the harsh economy.

“So let them implement for the junior staff and continue to pay the salaries of the senior staff regularly until they agree. They should not use their own to stall the benefit of the junior staff.”

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Liberia election board rejects vote fraud claims

Liberia’s election commission on Friday confirmed its rejection of fraud allegations over the first round of presidential elections, setting the scene for a showdown at the Supreme Court. The announcement, which concerns the October 10 vote, confirms a decision initially taken on Monday, National Elections Commission (NEC) official Davidetta Lassana told reporters.

A second round of voting, pitting Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party against former superstar footballer George Weah, had been due to take place on November 7 but was postponed by the Supreme Court following a complaint about electoral fraud. The Liberty Party candidate Charles Brumskine, who came in third, claimed that ballot stuffing and false voter registration cards marred the election — allegations then backed up by Boakai.

The commission found that the two parties failed to provide “indubitable evidence” as required by the constitution that the vote was tainted by fraud, citing material errors that had no consequence and were corrected afterwards. “The request by the complaining parties for a re-run of elections is hereby denied,” said Lassana.

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AfDB: Côte d’Ivoire supports Adesina’s second term bid

 Cote d’Ivoire will support the candidacy of the President, African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, for a second term at the helm of the development bank, an official source in the Ivorian economic capital said. A local newspaper, APA, on Friday said a former Ivorian Minister of Economy and Finance, Adama Koné, who had been newly appointed Minister to the President of the Republic in charge of Economic and Financial Affairs, would support Adesina for a second tenure in office.

It said Kone would represent Côte d’Ivoire as the administrator of the  AfDB to support the renewal of the mandate of Adesina. Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, who spoke at the presidential palace in Abidjan at the first cabinet meeting of his new government, gave indication of the country’s support for Adesina.

Ouattara was quoted as saying, “Adesina is doing an excellent job.” Adesina had announced on June 14 in Malabo at the close of the 54th Annual Meetings of the AfDB Group, his candidacy for a second term at the head of the development bank.

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Ekiti needs home-bred gov to succeed – Ex-Envoy

A former Nigerian High Commissioner to Canada, Dare Bejide, has said Ekiti State has not witnessed commensurate progress because it has not produced a home-bred governor since its creation in 1996. According to him, it is difficult for anyone that lived outside the state to know the problems of the people and meet thier expectations.

Bejide spoke in Aramoko Ekiti on Thursday at a meeting with members of the Peoples Democratic Party on his governorship ambition. The former Secretary to the State Government lamented that the party in Ekiti had been overtaken by strangers and impostors who had made life difficult for members.

He said, “Ekiti has not produced a home-bred governor since its creation. As a home-bred man who has lived among you, I know the problems.  “As a lawyer, I would not violate the law because the Independent National Electoral Commission has not lifted embargo on campaign. At the appropriate time I will meet the people and tell you my programme.”

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