The Nigerian Economic Summit Group has said that it is crucial for the Federal Government to find a sustainable solution to the issue of insecurity in the country in order to retain the interest of existing local and foreign investors and attract new ones.
This is one of the key recommendations by the group in its research titled, “Sectoral Development: Assessing the Conditions that drive Youth Employment in Key Sectors of the Nigerian economy”
The research which is also a product of the African Economic Research Consortium aims to among other things determine the trend of youth employment and economic growth in Nigeria.
The findings of the research were explored at a research dissemination workshop held in Abuja on Tuesday.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of the Group, Laoye Jaiyeola said that the high rate of youth unemployment in the country was linked to the high incidence of young people’s involvement in social vices such as militancy, kidnapping, political thuggery, armed robbery, prostitution and other forms of unproductive activities.
He noted that the findings of the study emphasise the need for sectoral reforms in critical sectors such as the manufacturing, services sector, trade, education, health, among others.
Besides addressing the issue of insecurity, the NESG also advocated for private-public partnerships to attract investors into the country and create an environment that encourages employment, especially for the youth population.
Part of the research read, “Government will be able to attract both local and foreign investors by encouraging public-private partnerships in a politically stable economy using both fiscal and monetary instruments such as the substantial reduction of taxes or the introduction of tax holidays or through the provision of matching funds or the introduction of favourable lending or exchange rates.”
