FG Urged to Embrace Economic Diversification to Address Job Crisis

Omolabake Fasogbon

The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) has urged the federal government to harness option of diversification to tackle rising unemployment rate impeding growth and development. 

ICSAN expressed concerns about this trend during its Presidential Parley in Lagos, urging government to cast a spotlight on under-tapped sectors of the economy for job opportunities and economic prosperity. 

President of ICSAN, Funmi Ekundayo, emphasised synergy between public and private sectors to engage more industries to spur activities that will have a multiplier effects on economy. 

“The agriculture and manufacturing sectors should be driven as much as the oil and gas sector. Policies in these sectors should be tailored at ensuring growth on upward trajectory,” she said. 

Ekundayo, further remarked that attendant effects of inflation was taking its toll on the unemployed, adding that the employed are also feeling the heat given wage-price gap. 

To this end, she stressed the urgency for concerned stakeholders to reach a level playing ground on minimum wage to achieve a balance. 

“We are saying that all parties be realistic and give best consideration in national interest. A spurious figure that may not be sustainable in the long run will be dangerous for the economy. 

“We want a sustainable minimum wage that will not result in job loss as well as good enough to cater to high cost of living. We urge all parties involved to prioritise national interest and stability,” she stated. 

She also urged sound corporate governance in all government parastatals to be able to improve public administration, reiterating ICSAN’s commitment to enhancing status of governance across sectors of the economy.