Stakeholders in the business sector have urged the federal government to improve the business environment to enable the private sector to tackle unemployment.

They made the call in Lagos on Wednesday.

They were reacting to the recent inauguration of the National Job Centre Project by the government.

The government recently inaugurated the project, a nationwide network of employability hubs aimed at addressing unemployment.

The initiative also seeks to promote dignified, inclusive, and transformative work opportunities for Nigerians.

The project is a key component of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, designed to connect trained Nigerians to real job opportunities.

It also aims to strengthen the country’s labour market infrastructure.

A former Director of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Nerus Ekezie, said the government should introduce investment-friendly policies.

He said such policies would support domestic manufacturing and services to be more productive.

“Then, more private sector investments will spring up and create job opportunities for the people,” he said.

Mr Ekezie noted that in spite of the novel approach, the government’s efforts remained more theoretical than practical in addressing unemployment.

“We already have the National Directorate of Employment and other similar establishments for such purposes,” he said.

He advised the government to focus more on entrenching vocational education as a solution to social and economic challenges.

Mr Ekezie also called for the decentralisation of institutions that provide vocational training to equip more people with marketable skills.

“More emphasis should be on digital and artificial intelligence learning, as well as construction skills,” he added.

He said such efforts would help young people become more self-reliant and productive.

Also, the founder of the Independence Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Sunny Nwosu, urged the government to invest more in agriculture.

He said the sector had immense potential to create job opportunities and drive inclusive growth.

“The government should allocate more funding to agriculture and its value chain to absorb the teeming unemployed youth,” Mr Nwosu said. 

(NAN)