The Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Idris Muhammad Bugaje, has revealed that unemployed young Nigerians and graduates have reached about 90 million.

“As we speak, the unemployment rates in the country are alarming because there are about 90 million unemployed youths in the country and the majority of them obtained their degrees but without jobs,” said Mr Baguje at the Annual General Meeting of the Science and Technology Forum (STF) held in Kaduna.

Speaking further, the NBTE boss blamed the increasing unemployment rate for the security challenges in the country, lamenting that many young graduates are forced to roam the streets.

Suggesting compulsory skills acquisition as the solution to the rising unemployment rate, Mr Baguje noted that the federal government would mandate tertiary institutions to offer training in technical vocational education.

He further revealed that institutions without TVET courses would not be accredited by 2023.

A World Bank report released in July 2021 indicated that the unemployment rate in Nigeria rose to its highest level under President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime.

The report said the rate was significantly higher for the youths (42.5 per cent) than non-youths (26.3 per cent).

The Washington-based organisation said the unemployment rate, which started rising sharply in 2015, when Mr Buhari assumed power, worsened during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the country into recession.