The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, has pledged to verify the recommendations of the report by the Committee of Projects and Programme Verification on the programmes of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
The minister expressed confidence and appreciation to the committee headed by the Labour Ministry’s Director, Policy Analysis, Research and Statistics (PARS), Dr Chris Amadi, for the efforts of his team and assured that the implementation of the key recommendations outlined in the report will be done immediately.
Onyejeocha had in November 30, 2023, set up a verification committee to scrutinise the NDE’s projects and programmes spanning from January 2022 to December 2023.
Reacting to the presentation on the report, she said the initiative to verify NDE’s programmes underscores the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in evaluating the effectiveness of NDE initiatives in job creation.
Onyejeocha further said the verification exercise was to reinforce the ministry’s mission of providing meaningful employment opportunities to Nigerians and to lift the citizens out of poverty in alignment with the president’s ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda.
Eulogising the work done by the committee, the Labour Minister said, “I appreciate the committee members who carried out the project. For me, it is a success story. As a representative of the government, I found this verification very important in order to ascertain the reality on ground. Dealing with poverty requires stepping out of comfort zone to meet the people.
“We have our timeline for deliverables and this is one important step taken for proper guidance. We cannot play politics with our people and the fact that President Tinubu already stated that the welfare of Nigerians is of great importance to him and we in the Ministry of Labour, charged with the responsibility of providing employment and reducing poverty, must be up and doing.”
Giving more insight on the report, Media and Publicity Adviser to the Minister, Emameh Gabriel, explained that the report comprises two distinct components: a comprehensive set of recommendations and a detailed section outlining the findings, accompanied by a standardised template disseminated across all states in the federation to facilitate the reporting process.
NDE is a key agency of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to tackle the problem of unemployment in Nigeria through various initiatives.
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