The Minister of labour and employment, Dr Chris Ngige has revealed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government has created over eight million jobs in three years.
Ngige said the jobs were mostly farming, carpentry, bricklaying, tiling and many others constituting the blue collar jobs which the federal government was now using to redeem youths from joblessness occasioned by lack of white collar jobs.
He said, “There are no white collar jobs any longer. If you are waiting for one, you will wait for a long time.
“People are now finding employment in the blue collar jobs, and it is even more profitable. How many of you are aware that the day pay for carpenters and other artisans have increased?
“In Abuja they collect as high as N10,000. If they get jobs even if it is five times a month, do you know how much that is? How many white collar jobs pay that?”
Ngige said the unavailability of artisans was because most of them had gone to farm, and there was need to train a new generation of tillers, builders, and people in other crafts.
“In farming alone, this government has generated lots of jobs. You eat Anambra rice here, others eat Abakaliki rice, in Abuja I eat Kano rice and even Imo too has come up with their. All these brings employment,” he said.
Speaking on the Ifitedunu specialist skill acquisition centre, the minister said the centre was budgeted for in 2017 budget, and was again captured in the 2018 budget.
“What that means is that the funds for the project is already available. There is not fear of the project being abandoned.
“Federal government will construct this skill acquisition centre with maximum dispatch,” he said