Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has called on President Bola Tinubu’s government to declare a state of emergency on unemployment.

CHRICED executive director Ibrahim Zikirullahi made the call at a news conference on the state of the nation on Wednesday in Abuja.

Mr Zikirullahi called on the government to vote N1 billion for job creation in every 774 LGAs nationwide.

He said this should be based on the unique characteristics of each local government area, using some key sectors of the economy, particularly manufacturing, agricultural and industrial sectors, as well as ICT.

Mr Zikirullahi stated that the sectors should be used as the foundation for achieving inclusive growth in Nigeria, especially with the rising youth unemployment and crime rate in the country.

He said the call had become imperative because the challenge of the cost of living had continued to pose ‘a significant existential threat’ to millions of Nigerians, hence the need to put measures in place to address it.

“CHRICED recognises certain ambitious declarations, such as the additional increase of N35,000 for workers, conditional cash transfers to the poorest of the poor, students’ loans and revitalisation of the manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

“However, it is insufficient to merely announce these grand interventions without presenting a compelling argument that emphasises crucial aspects of sustainability, transparency and accountability. 

“Based on the current tone of the proposed intervention by the federal government, there is a possibility that it may become another avenue for wastage and depleting scarce public resources without achieving the desired impact on ordinary citizens,’’ he said.

The CHRICED director called on the government to learn valuable lessons from programmes like N-Power and other public employment schemes, all of which were plagued by corruption, absenteeism and impersonation

“Our position is that any intervention on this scale, given the quantum of resources and the fact that a lot of public debt is being incurred in these kinds of spending, should be driven by real value addition on the ground. 

“This is why CHRICED has, over the years, called for the 774 local government areas to be used as the basis and template for well-thought-out economic policies to spread impactful and sustainable development across the country evenly.

“As a matter of fact, CHRICED has severally suggested some clear-headed policies, which we believe, if adopted and faithfully implemented, will return our teeming population of unemployed to work. It will also serve as a basis for the rapid industrial development of our country,” he said.

According to him, in addition to generating new employment templates, there should also be a strong political commitment to enhancing the fairness, transparency and openness of the government’s employment and economic empowerment programmes implemented nationwide.

Mr Zikirullahi also stressed the need to revamp and reform the country’s security architecture to ensure that every budget allocated for defence was accounted for.

He said this would go a long way in curbing the spate of kidnapping, insurgency and other insecurity issues. 

The CHRICED boss called for a thorough investigation into the judgments by some election petitions and tribunals, resulting in judicial embarrassment and holding those responsible accountable for their actions. 

(NAN)