Our reforms creating employment opportunities, says Shettima

Vice President, Kashim Shettima has revealed the ongoing reforms initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would create employment opportunities for the youth population as well as provide greater opportunities in the various sectors of the economy.

Shettima highlighted the inevitability of skills acquisition among the young demographic in Nigeria, noting that the nation could no longer afford to keep growing a population of idle, unemployed and unemployable youths.

The Vice President spoke on Friday during the combined graduation ceremony of the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute, Lafia, Nasarawa State.

Shettima stated: “The danger of paying lip service to technical and vocational skills acquisition is one none of us is prepared to experience, and the examples of various low and middle income countries, especially the Asian Tigers, are there to inspire the direction of our National Development Plans and push our economic drive towards a destination we all desire — a place of boom.

“This is why His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has championed economic reforms beyond the usual cosmetic fixes to lay the groundwork for greater opportunities ahead. With increased allocations to the states, I believe that we are more than energised to fund our development programmes.”

He said the graduation ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate the sincerity of the Tinubu administration’s promise to create avenues for up-skilling and re-skilling the nation’s workforce across sectors.

The vice president applauded the foresight of the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, which he said has manifested in his aspiration to turn the state “into a hub of jobs and opportunities.”

He also commended the institute for graduating no fewer than 9,000 students in barely three years of its existence, charging the graduands to join relevant associations and cooperatives to enable them access loan facilities and learn from the experiences of those ahead of them in their respective enterprises.