NECA offers panacea to unemployment crisis

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), has called for strategic interventions in Small and Medium Enterprises (MSEs), skill development to address the nation’s unemployment crisis.

Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, Director General of NECA made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

Oyerinde said that job creation cannot happen by chance but through deliberate policies that foster business growth and skills development.

He stressed that government must provide the enabling environment for the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to thrive and encourage skills acquisition among the youths.

“The country needs an environment where skills development can take the centre stage. Also, government must continue to enable the private sector to thrive.

” We should ensure that we retain investments while making conscious effort to attract more investments,” he said.

Oyerinde commended the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment for its proposed census of MSMEs, saying it would provide crucial data for targeted support and economic planning.

According to him, Nigeria must move beyond the traditional focus on university degrees and invest more in technical skill development.

He also called for initiatives, such as the NECA-ITF Technical Skills Development Project as models that should be expanded to equip more Nigerians with market-ready skills.

On the country’s economic outlook, the NECA boss said that Nigeria was not yet out of its economic difficulties but there were signs of stability.

He also highlighted the recent steadiness in the forex market with the Naira maintaining a relatively stable position between ₦1,400 and ₦1,500 per dollar, compared to previous months when it fluctuated unpredictably.

Oyerinde also acknowledged the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear forex backlogs, describing it as a critical step toward restoring investors’ confidence.

” If these efforts are sustained alongside the revival of local refineries to reduce pressure on forex demand, Nigeria will be on the path to economic recovery,” he said.