No fewer than two million students, who graduate from the nation’s tertiary institutions annually are said to worsen unemployment level in the country.
Dr. Osita Aniemeka, the Programme Director, South East Entrepreneurship Development Centre, SEEDC, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, stated this weekend in Owerri, during the flag-off of skills acquisition scheme jointly powered by Iwuanyanwu Foundation, CBN and SEEDC.
“About 1.8 million students graduate annually from the nation’s tertiary institutions and this worsens the unemployment situation in the country,” Dr. Aniemeka said.
While urging the trainees to fully utilise the programme, the Programme Director however debunked the belief in some quarters that CBN will simply dole out huge sums of money to participants.
“The CBN’s major concern is to drastically reduce unemployment, create employers of labour and grow the nation’s economy. Our business is not to throw money about, but we can connect successful graduates of the scheme to sources of fund”, Aniemeka said.
Speaking also, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the facilitator of the programme and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP , explained that the event was one of the efforts of CBN and his Foundation, to solve the social problem of unemployment.
“This is an important milestone in our determination to support the government in their efforts to reduce unemployment and under-employment of youths in the country”, Iwuanyanwu said.
He assured that the participants would be trained in various vocations, including power and energy, agro-allied businesses, film and photography, computer repairs, cosmetology, food processing and preservation, as well as fashion designing, construction and building technology.
