FCT, Abuja – The first set of beneficiaries of the federal government backed Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP) have now been assigned their one-year paid jobs.
Delivering a keynote address at the NJFP onboarding event for the first batch of beneficiaries on Thursday, November 10, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the programme is a part of the Buhari administration’s efforts to address youth and graduate unemployment in the country.
He said the beneficiaries have been matched with an employer, and several hundreds of them were selected to physically attend the ceremony, while several thousand others joined virtually.
The vice president stated that the federal government will continue to provide platforms to empower young Nigerians with strong employability skills which can be deployed to solve national and global socio-economic challenges.
He urged the beneficiaries to build their knowledge, skills and competence through dedication, hard work and collaboration.
His words:
“You are young and educated at the most advanced moment in human history. This is the most advantageous moment for any young person and many of you are proving this.
“Since 2015, we have seen six tech and innovation companies who are now described as unicorns, that is a company valued at over one billion dollars, established by young men and women under 30, many of them trained in Nigerian universities.
“But you don’t have to be the entrepreneur to be a success. You can be the great software engineer, the administrator, or the manager of men and resources. Every day presents that great opportunity, seize this moment and achieve your best dreams.”
Speaking further, the Vice President stated that the birth of the programme was an important statement on the new and dynamic way to solve present economic problems.
He said:
“It must be a collaboration between government, private sector, and civil society, development partners or what is called third sector. It must be individuals in these sectors, coming together to talk informally and then developing big game changing ideas.”
The NJFP is expected to annually provide 20,000 young Nigerian graduates with a 12-month paid job internships at leading firms, companies and in the public sector.
Osinbajo commended the UNDP, EU, the private sector, and businesses for their support and commitments made towards the successful implementation of the programme.
In his remarks, the UNDP Representative to Nigeria, Mohamed Yahya, described the NJFP fellows as national resources.
VP Osinbajo launches special agro-industrial zone programme
In a related development, VP Osinbajo on Monday, October 24 launched the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones in Nigeria.
The programme is expected to help the country in improving export earnings from agriculture.
It will also help in creating millions of lucrative agro-industrial jobs and opportunities for Nigerians.
