*Says it is a time bomb waiting to explode
18 October 2014, Sweetcrude, Lagos – NIGERIA Employers Consultative Association, NECA, has warned that raising youth unemployment in the country is a time bomb waiting to explode, calling on government and other stakeholders to urgently address it before it is too late.
Director General of NECA, Mr. Segun Oshinowo, gave the warning while speaking at a briefing by Network of Entrepreneurial Women, NNEW, ahead of its maiden annual Conference/Summit, taking place between Thursday October 30 and Friday 31.
Mr. Oshinowo commended the women for their efforts at tackling unemployment crisis in Nigeria, urging all concerned to tackle the army of unemployed youths in the country to save the country from impending dangers.
According to him, 70 percent of Nigerian population was between the ages of 15 and 35, stressing that in a situation where most of the people in this group were unemployed should be a source of worry to a every right thinking government and entrepreneurs or investor.
He added that must by now prioritized job creations by ensuring that all its efforts, policies, programmes must have job content as the sole determinant including contract awards.
Earlier President of NNEW, Mrs. Lola Okanlawon, said “NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women, NNEW, the platform established in 2005 by Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, to promote and nurture entrepreneurship among women.
Speaking on the forthcoming summit, she said “the Summit will further promote entrepreneurship among women and youth in Nigeria. The contributions of women entrepreneurs in nation building have had immense positive impact both on the nation’s economy and the society, as a whole; so much that the federal government has made a whopping 60% allocation of the recent CBN N250 billion Fund to financing the business of women entrepreneurs. In view of the above, NNEW is hosting aspiring, emerging and established women entrepreneurs at her maiden Summit tagged “The Catalyst 2014”. The objective of the Summit is to re-orientate, inspire, teach and mentor female entrepreneurs on business strategies, techniques and values necessary for successful and sustainable enterprises. The conference event includes; plenary sessions, syndicate sessions, panel discussion and networking sessions.”
She added that summit would offer participants the opportunities for mentorship, learning from gurus of the business industry themselves, sales, exhibition and networking opportunities among others
