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FG Launches Youth Employment Action Plan For Job Creation

Published

5 years ago

September 14, 2021

Joel Ajayi
The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to mobilising the full energies and capacities of the youth in the country towards minimising the risks to national security posed by rising youth unemployment and underemployment, in line with global realities.

The Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Akin Dare disclosed this today in Abuja at the occasion of the launching of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP 2021-2024).

According to him, the launching of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan today, is an expression of the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration to continue to facilitate an enabling environment that will create about 3.7 million jobs annually so as to achieve national development goals, particularly, sustainable economic growth in the country.

Youth he said, must and should be regarded as a viable investment that can yield positive benefits for all spheres of our socio-economic progress, rather than a group targeted for periodic empowerment interventions.

The Minister stated that youth unemployment has really assumed an uncomfortable proportion and that its effect has not only led to frustration on the part of the youth, but also, is the underlying cause of poverty and youth restiveness in the country.

“It is important to state that the economic and social consequences of youth unemployment transcend the youth group. It has also resulted in missed economic opportunities for the nation. This is because youth inclusion is about skilled human capital, social and economic stability, a vibrant and healthy labour force, which will also engender political stability and national growth and development”, Mr. Dare said.

It is in realization of the importance of providing opportunities for sustainable economic engagement of youth, he emphasized, that the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan is now being presented to stakeholders as a framework which will address fragmentation, promote synergy, mobilize resources, and deliver a comprehensive approach to youth employment interventions, through multi sector collaboration.

The Minister explained that since his assumption of office, the Ministry has concentrated efforts on moving youth development interventions from the empowerment model to a sustainable system that emphasizes investment in youth.

Stating further that this Plan emphasizes the 4Es: Employability, Entrepreneurship Development, Employment Creation and Equality and rights, adding that it also details needed actions in support of employment creation for youth in critical economic and social sectors and outlines the financing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

“The priority themes of the plan, known as the 4Es are, “further delineated into strategic lines of action under each theme, with emphasis on sectors that have high job creation potential, such as Digital Economy, Rural Economy, Green Economy and Renewable energy sector, Manufacturing, Tourism, Construction and Services.

The Plan will also ensure the inclusion of partners across sectors and will create a robust partnership base through which my Ministry will ensure wider reach of youth employment programmes across the country”.

To ensure inclusion from the grassroots he said, the Ministry will also be convening zonal inception workshops on the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan, through which stakeholders from the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory will be included in the implementation of the plan.

He therefore urged all stakeholders from the public, private sectors and development partners to take a risk and invest in youth for the purpose of economic growth and development, stressing, “I assure you that it will be worth it, with benefits for the development of our nation and the global community”.

Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Nebeolisa Anako, stated that the idea of the action plan is to provide kinetic solutions to the challenges of youth unemployment and restiveness through cross-sectoral collaboration.

He solicited the cooperation of stakeholders towards the full implementation of the action with a view to enriching the Ministry’s objective which is to achieve the goal of the initiative.

In a goodwill message, the UNIDO Representative to ECOWAS and Regional Director, Mr. Jean Bakole, said, “the launch of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan is apt and came at a time when the world is facing a worsening youth unemployment crisis; due to the global COVID-19 pandemic that severely affected labour markets around the world”.

He commended the present administration and all stakeholders for collaborating to develop the Youth Employment Action Plan which also aligns with the SDG goals.

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Strategic Partnerships, Diaspora Investment and Improved Workforce Critical to Industrialization-DG RMRDC

Published

2 days ago

November 12, 2026

The Gleamer

By: Stella Azi and Adaora Adibe

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has called for a strategic shift from the exportation of raw commodities to domestic processing, manufacturing and value addition, declaring that Nigeria possesses enormous untapped raw material resources capable of driving industrialisation, creating jobs and strengthening the country’s economic competitiveness.

Prof. Ike-Muonso made this submission in a lecture titled Unlocking Nigeria’s Raw Material Value Chain for Industrialization, Manufacturing and Competitiveness, where he presented an extensive assessment of Nigeria’s resource endowments, industrial challenges and emerging investment opportunities across agricultural commodities, solid minerals and waste-based raw materials.

The lecture highlighted a combined US$2.65 trillion global market opportunity across 30 major raw material value chains, comprising 12 agricultural value chains valued at US$932 billion, 11 mineral value chains worth US$1.352 trillion and seven circular-economy value chains estimated at US$366 billion.

According to the RMRDC Boss, Nigeria must move beyond the traditional approach of extracting and exporting raw materials to building competitive domestic industries that transform these resources into intermediate products, industrial inputs and finished goods for local consumption and international markets.

He observed that the country’s manufacturing sector has struggled to sustain its 2014 peak, with its contribution to real Gross Domestic Product declining from 9.64 per cent in 2014 to 8.05 per cent in 2025, representing a 16.5 per cent decline. He also drew attention to the increasing cost of raw material imports, which rose to US$20.5 billion in 2025, approximately six times the 2020 level.

He explained that the growing dependence on imported industrial inputs exposes Nigerian manufacturers to foreign exchange volatility, increases production costs and weakens the competitiveness of locally manufactured products.

Prof. ke-Muonso stressed that the solution lies in developing domestic raw material value chains through deliberate investment in processing facilities, research and development, technology, infrastructure and stronger linkages between producers, processors and manufacturers.

He identified agriculture, solid minerals and industrial waste as three major resource platforms for Nigeria’s industrial transformation, stating the country’s significant production capacity and the enormous opportunities available for downstream processing.

Ike-Muonso noted that Nigeria produces over 63 million metric tonnes of cassava annually, making it the world’s largest producer, while also maintaining strong positions in cocoa, cashew, sesame, palm oil and cotton. However, more than 80 per cent of agricultural output leaves farms without adequate processing, resulting in the loss of significant economic value and industrial opportunities.

In the solid minerals sector, he identified more than 44 commercially viable minerals across over 500 locations, including lithium, gold, barite, bitumen, iron ore and high-grade limestone, describing them as strategic resources capable of supporting steel production, energy storage, electrification and advanced manufacturing.

The DG further drew attention to Nigeria’s industrial and agro-waste resources, noting that the country generates over 32 million tonnes of solid waste annually. He explained that agricultural residues, cassava peels, scrap metals, plastics and electronic waste could serve as important feedstock for bio-fertilisers, industrial chemicals, recycled polymers, energy production and other manufacturing applications.

In the agricultural sector, the DG identified cassava and industrial starch, cotton and natural textiles, natural rubber and elastomers, oil palm and oleochemicals, maize derivatives and cocoa processing as priority areas requiring increased investment.

He explained that processing agricultural commodities into industrial starch, sweeteners, textiles, technical rubber, specialty fats and other intermediate products would enable Nigeria to capture more value from its agricultural resources while reducing dependence on imported industrial inputs.

For the minerals sector, he highlighted crude oil-to-olefins and petrochemicals, lithium and energy storage, iron ore and steel, rare earth elements, bauxite and aluminium, and copper and electrification as strategic investment opportunities.

He particularly emphasised the importance of moving beyond mineral extraction into beneficiation, refining, battery precursors, industrial chemicals, metal fabrication and advanced materials production.

On the circular economy, Prof. Ike-Muonso identified electronic waste recovery, scrap metal recycling, plastic waste processing, agro-waste valorisation and battery recycling as emerging industrial opportunities.

He explained that transforming waste into productive industrial feedstock would not only reduce environmental pollution but also create new manufacturing industries, generate employment and reduce the importation of valuable industrial materials.

He noted that to address the structural challenges confronting raw material-based industrialisation, the DG highlighted the strategic interventions of the RMRDC, particularly the proposed 30% Value Addition Bill and the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP).

He described the 30% Value Addition Bill as an important policy instrument designed to encourage domestic processing of raw materials before export, strengthen local manufacturing capacity and guarantee access to essential raw materials for Nigerian industries, and NISSRAMP as a critical data infrastructure that would improve access to verified information on the availability, location and quality of raw materials.

According to him, the combination of appropriate policy instruments and reliable resource data would help de-risk investments, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He emphasised the importance of collaboration among government, academia and industry in developing bankable projects, sharing investment risks and accelerating the establishment of processing and manufacturing facilities.

Professor Ike-Muonso called on Nigerians in the diaspora and other local and international investors to take advantage of the opportunities available in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He identified industrial processing parks, mineral beneficiation and refining, agro-industrial platforms, circular-material processing, industrial input manufacturing and enabling infrastructure as viable investment platforms.

He noted that diaspora investors could contribute beyond financial capital by bringing technology, international business networks, governance standards, technical expertise and access to global markets.

He maintained that Nigeria’s industrial transformation requires coordinated investment across the entire value chain, from raw material sourcing and aggregation to processing, manufacturing, certification and export development.

Professor Ike-Muonso stressed that the country’s industrial future would depend not merely on the volume of raw materials extracted but on the capacity to transform them into competitive products that meet domestic and international market requirements.

He maintained that developing local value chains would stimulate industrial growth, create employment opportunities, diversify exports, conserve foreign exchange and deepen Nigeria’s technological capabilities.

Through its strategic interventions, the RMRDC is positioning itself as a critical bridge between resource availability, investment opportunities and industrial competitiveness, with the ultimate objective of transforming Nigeria from a predominantly raw material exporting economy into a strong manufacturing and value-adding nation.

Ike-Muonso has demonstrated this since assumption of office as the Director General/ CEO RMRDC in the area of capacity building, improved working conditions, promotion of merit, and maintaining a conducive environment that rewards excellence, innovation and dedication. This is evident in his institution of RMRDC training school, reward for winners of the RMRDC innovation challenge among others.

His commitment has brought recognition both nationally and internationally: Al-Jazirah double honour awards as Public Servant /Government Agency of the year 2024-2025 and the recent election as the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Representative on the Board of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations (WAITRO) is a attestation to his commitment.

Concluding the lecture, the DG charged staff, researchers, manufacturers and investors to see themselves as nation builders in the new era of raw materials-led industrialization.

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