The federal government is helping unemployed Nigerians become employers of labour through the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).

Bauchi coordinator of the NDE, Lawan Yaya, made the declaration in Bauchi on Saturday when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said some of the beneficiaries of NDE programmes that received loans or starter packs had started businesses in their various localities.

“The federal government is seriously focusing on unemployed youths by rolling out different interventions to make them self-employed, at the very least.

“At the end of a recent NDE training on entrepreneurship, 40 beneficiaries out of 100 got loan packages ranging between N250,000 and N500,000 and they are now in serious businesses.

“In agriculture, the Rural Employment Promotion Department of the NDE recently trained 93 participants who were given N100,000 each as loan packages.

“Some of them bought cows, while some are into crop production; some are into agriculture value chain and they have even employed some hands and became employers of labour already,’’ Mr Yaya said.

He added that some of the beneficiaries who received N60,000 each under its Extended Special Public Works, grouped themselves into a cooperative society and pulled resources together to buy cows.

He explained that after three months, they slaughtered the cows and got bigger seed capital to start various small businesses in their communities.

“The federal government is really making a serious impact in addressing unemployment issues in the country.

“I am saying this because the Industrial Training Fund had invited me to their programme and we have seen young entrepreneurs that were given loans and have already become employers of labour,’’ he said.

Mr Yaya identified Nirsal Microfinance Bank of the CBN as another outfit helping and assisting unemployed youths to become employers of labour.

“If you look at the Bank of Agriculture, they are also our partner in progress.

“Some NDE trainees who could not get loans from the directorate were linked with the bank and they are accessing loans from there,’’ he said.

He advised beneficiaries of the different federal government interventions to optimise opportunities given to them.

(NAN)