Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi, has told Nigerians not to expect his ministry to provide jobs for them as that is not part of the mandate given to him when he was appointed minister.
Dingyadi who made the remarks at the annual conference of the Federal Capital Territory chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations in Abuja on Thursday, emphasized that providing jobs for Nigerian youths was not the responsibility of his ministry and as such, Nigerians should not expect the ministry to create jobs for them.
Though he admitted that his ministry is aware of the need for Nigeria’s unemployed youth population to be gainfully employed, the minister stressed that the main task of his ministry is to create an enabling environment and not to secure jobs for anybody.
“You will agree with me that the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment is never to give employment to people,” he said in his address.
“However, it is at the heart of the Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly as it relates to job creation, sustained and inclusive investment, as well as the promotion of enhanced productivity for improved service delivery.
“As you are aware, the ministry is not there to provide employment, because the former Minister of Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare, before he left, was asking me to give him jobs. I said we only create the environment for jobs. We don’t give jobs.
“Mr President is poised and committed to providing the requisite leadership and driving initiatives geared towards Nigeria’s economic recovery and transformation.
“This is evident in the recent successful negotiation of a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers, and the deliberate efforts towards sustainable strategic investments in human capital, infrastructure, innovation and institutional reforms,” he stated.