The Federal Government said yesterday that 23,516 unemployed graduates have, as of last month, enrolled under the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP 2.0).. .
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Delivery and Coordination (Office of the Vice President), Akubo Adegbe, disclosed this during the NJFP 2.0 engagement with employers and fellows in Birnin- Kebbi, Kebbi State. The programme, themed ‘Employer and Fellow,’ is aimed at building a skilled workforce for the nation.
Adegbe said: ‘We have achieved 97.3 per cent of the 24,000 graduates targeted when the programme was launched by Vice President Kashim Shettima in October 2024.
‘When NJFP 2.0 was launched, we set an ambitious target to get 24,000 graduates on the portal by the end of June this year.
‘By the deadline, two days ago, we had 23,516 graduates across the country. That is about 97.3 per cent of our target. We are almost there.’
According to him, Nigeria has abundant talented youths who lack sufficient opportunities.
‘In Nigeria, we do not have a shortage of talent. What we have is an opportunity deficit. Our youths are talented, but they have not been given the chance to do what they are capable of doing.
‘Therefore, this programme is to connect our youths to opportunities. Talented young people should be linked to unlimited opportunities,’ Adegbe said.
He added that at the national level, the Federal Government was working to grow Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion, having already reached about $500 billion.
The Presidential aide added that achieving that required strong human capital to drive economic growth.
Adegbe commended the Kebbi State Government for its agricultural initiatives, saying that the programme was designed for state-level implementation so that each state could address its specific challenges and leverage its comparative advantages.
His words: ‘This programme is designed to provide the workforce we need today and the workforce we will need tomorrow.
‘It is about building the human resources that will sustain Nigeria’s development,’ he said.
He thanked the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for partnering with the Federal Government to help Nigerian youths become employers of labour.
In his remarks, Gov. Nasir Idris, represented by Sports and Youth Development Commissioner Nurudeen Bala-Fingilla, described the programme as proof that classrooms alone cannot guarantee employment for graduates.
Idris urged beneficiaries to make themselves relevant and avoid being passive in any organisation they join.