Journalists have been mandated by the Ministry of Labour and Employment to give effective reports on the agenda of the Federal Government regarding generation of employment in the country. The Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Emmanuel Igbinosun, disclosed this in Abuja, at a one-day workshop. The workshop was organised by the Press and Public Relations in the ministry, under the theme: “Strategic Reportage on Job Creation/Employment Generation for Labour Correspondents”.
Igbinosun asserted that the Mass Media and journalists have a vital role to play in the achievement of the success of the current administration, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He stated that journalists are saddled with the task of ensuring the Education of the public on the operations of the government towards the delivery of the Renewed Hope Agenda by the current administration. The present government has an eight-point agenda, one of which includes addressing Unemployment.
Media is responsible for the actualization of the mandate.
All efforts and policies of the government on tackling unemployment need adequate public awareness and publicity. Igbinosun stated that the media are reliable allies of the government in the aspect of national development, and are required to give effective reports on them. During the course of the workshop, the minister said that the workshop was organized to aid the strategic reporting and understanding of the aspects of employment generation and job creation as a mandate of the ministry.
The minister also added that the workshop was in acknowledgement of the essential role of the media as a strategic partner in the affairs of the ministry. The media is responsible for the actualization of the mandate and delivery of the services of the ministry. The focus of the workshop was on widening the knowledge of the Labour correspondents in the activities of the ministry and towards achieving set goals. He also advised everyone present at the workshop.
Self-employment is the best option to create jobs.
Mr. Emmanuel Igbinosun, the minister, implored everyone to work collaboratively with the federal government towards the achievement of the agenda of the generation of employment through knowledge-based and in-depth reporting of the efforts and policies in that aspect. Director of Employment and Wages in the ministry, Mr. Joseph Akpan, stated that the mandate of the ministry was not majorly to ensure creation of jobs for unemployed citizens and tackle issues of strike. The ministry was rather founded to help the present government in the provision of a conducive environment to enhance the availability of jobs.
Furthermore, the Director stated that if the road networks were not in bad shape and if an efficient compensation scheme was available, including other contingencies, job opportunities can be viewed as an enhancement. Akpan also highlighted that the best way to create jobs is through entrepreneurship or self-employment. This is because there is a capacity for expansion. The Director of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Mr. Olajide Oshundun, stated that many Nigerians believe that the Labour ministry is only saddled with settling industrial disputes.
70,000 Nigerians were trained and certified by the ministry.
Dr. Tiza Shaakaa, the Deputy Director of Skills Development and Certification Department in the ministry, stated that the ministry had ensured the certification and training of 70,000 Nigerians. The training of these citizens was held between 2020 and 2022 in several skill acquisition programmes targeted at closing the unemployment gap of the nation. The Acting Chairman of Labour Correspondents of Nigeria (LACAN) also applauded the ministry for its efforts in making sure that journalists were enlightened on the programmes of the ministry.
