Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the Government is exploring ways to create thousands of jobs through agriculture, mass housing, solar power project and special public works.
He also advocated for immediate implementation of the stimulus package plans adopted to mitigate the effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic in Nigeria.
Osinbajo said this at the Day Two of the First Year Ministerial Performance Review Retreat at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The Vice President noted that though the Federal Government had commenced the implementation of the N2.3 trillion stimulus package, the economic distortions and hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic required the relevant ministers and stakeholders to expedite action on the adopted plans.
He said: “Everything that we are doing has to be done immediately. We are already in ‘Day 67’ since the plan.
Nothing is going to happen by magic, we have to simply do this stuff. We got to ensure that we have the money and ensure that day by day, we are measuring our achievements and trying to ensure that we do the things that we need to do. And we simply are not favoured by time. Every single day the poverty situation and the economic distortions deepen.”
Highlighting specific funding requirements and the expected outcomes in the plan, the Vice President said “Agriculture requiring N637.2 billion funding will provide 5,000,000 jobs; the Solar power project funding requirement is N152.4 billion is expected to provide 250,000 jobs; the Mass Housing programme with a funding requirement of N217.3 billion is expected to create 1,500,000 jobs; while Public Works funding is N52 billion to provide 774,000 jobs: and N100 billion is required to provide 500, 000 jobs in the SMEs.
“I think if we are able to implement this faithfully, if we are able to ensure that we bring in the resources, then, we certainly will be able to turn around, the economic fortunes of Nigeria.
