Dogara tasks Nigerian youths on CBN N400bn intervention fund

Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday urged Nigerian youths to take advantage of the N400 billion intervention fund for agricultural sector.

Dogara who gave the charge at the opening of the second sitting of third session of Nigerian Youth Parliament held at the National Assembly complex, Abuja, expressed optimism in the potential of agriculture to solve youth unemployment in the country.

“As I said elsewhere ‘Agriculture accounts for the bulk of GDP in Nigeria, and probably employs a higher absolute number of youth than any other sector. However, its full potential is rarely exploited. Much of Nigeria agricultural land lies fallow due to restrictions on land titling, state ownership of productive land and lack of incentives. Lack of supporting infrastructure makes production and transport of agricultural goods to markets, unviable.

“The recent initiative by the Federal Government to address youth unemployment through graduate participation in small scale agriculture is commendable. The N400 billion project which is being coordinated by the CBN represents a right step in the right direction. May I therefore use this opportunity to encourage young graduates and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members to access this facility and halt the current cycle of endless search for jobs.”

He expressed optimism that some of the bills passed when passed by the National Assembly including: Nigerian Railway Authority bill; National Road Fund bill; Petroleum Industry bill; National Transport Commission bill; Secured Transactions in Movable Assets bill and signed into law by the President will help to boost youth employment and economic development.

“A major challenge afflicting Nigeria’s youth population is unemployment, and as your elected representatives, this gives us nightmares. It is also my strong view that creativity and innovation are critical elements in engendering economic growth and development. Indeed the world is open for the youths to excel, especially in the area of technological development. Nigerian Youths can compete strongly in the technological field in the new world economy. We only need better technological education, funding and exposure to best practices.

“There can be no marked economic progress without improved power supply, and in response to the complaints of our young entrepreneurs – who need constant power supply to thrive – the House, in collaboration with the Senate, organised the first ever dialogue summit on reforming the power sector, which had all major stakeholders in attendance, and will influence legislation and oversight of the sector. We have consequently stepped up our oversight of the sector to plug loopholes and improve performance.

“That is why I personally sponsored the  which has been passed by the House. Some other Bills designed to facilitate a better business environment have also been passed in the House because without the support of the private sector, youth unemployment cannot be effectively tackled. etc. We are working closely with the Senate to ensure concurrence and Presidential assent,” Dogara stated.