•Seek Independent Audit Of Poverty Reduction Schemes
WORSENING unemployment will continue to aggravate poverty in the country and the consequent social ills, therefore the Federal Government should tackle the problem headlong, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has said.
The bishops demanded an independent evaluation of the financial value of the various schemes set up by government on poverty to unravel how much has been spent as well as its accessibility and impact on the generality of Nigerians.
Briefing journalists on employment generation in the country, the Executive Director of Caritas Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Everistus Bassey, said the CBCN is concerned about the high rate of unemployment in the country, adding that the much vaunted economic growth should not just be figuratively but real and capable of creating jobs for the teeming population of Nigerian youths.
“It is said that the current unemployment rate is 23.9 per cent against a workforce that is put at over 50 million out of 167 million population,” he said. “The issue of unemployment is a moral and social imperative. There is lack of fulfillment when one desires to work and there is no work. Both direct and indirect employers should tackle the problem of unemployment as a matter of urgency.”
The cleric urged government to set up a fund to be accessed by non-governmental agencies and faith-based bodies to provide services to people, especially in the rural areas. He insisted that poverty could be eradicated if any government takes makes it its thrust.
Bassey noted: “There are many schemes established for employment generation but they hang in the air and become difficult for ordinary persons to reach and pluck.
“With the recent commitment by Heads of State and Governments at the United Nations General Assembly with regards to poverty eradication, the Nigerian Government should tackle unemployment headlong. There has to be genuine commitment to rid this nation of poverty because there is enough for everyone’s need, but greed is taking its toll on our resources.”
He commended the Federal Government for the N220 billion Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund, but argued that the 15 per cent interest rate per annum for the credit was too high. He also lauded the You-Win programme and called for its expansion.
