Ilorin — Minister of Youth Development Bolaji Abdullahi has said that about 67 million youths in Nigeria, representing 42 percent of their population, are unemployed.

The minister, who said this yesterday in Ilorin, Kwara State Capital, while speaking at the launching of the North-central zone of the YouWin Enterprise Competition, noted that the Federal Government was mapping out strategies to reverse the trend.

"80 percent of our youths do not have more than Secondary School Certificate. The Federal Government alone cannot create jobs no matter how well intentioned or level of resources at its disposal. There is the need for the private sector to support the government in job creation and youth empowerment", he added.

According to the minister, part of the strategy to address the situation is to encourage the private sector and other agencies to employ more youths.

According to him, the YouWin Enterprise Competition is a programme initiated by the Federal Government to create jobs for Nigerian youths through series of business plan competitions.

In his address, Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed described the competition as timely, adding that "Across the land, we are confronted with massive youth unemployment and restiveness. However, we have a choice. We can either fold our arms and bemoan our fate or take the bull by the horns through appropriate support programmes such as YouWin"

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