The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Federal Government of Nigeria have rallied employers, workers, development partners and youth stakeholders behind a renewed national strategy to tackle unemployment and underemployment among young Nigerians.
Relevant stakeholders gathered on Monday at the United Nations building in Abuja to Kickstarter the review of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP) 2025–2030.
The meeting was convened by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, with technical support from the ILO through its Strengthening Employment and Employability Systems in Nigeria (SEESIN) project, under the GIZ-SKYE II Programme.
Speaking at the event, ILO Director, Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Vanessa Phala, said the review offered Nigeria an opportunity to develop a more coherent, realistic and results-oriented response to the youth employment challenge.
Phala, represented by ILO Abuja Office SEESIN National Project Coordinator, Aisha Dirisu, said the revised plan must be “evidence-based, implementation-oriented, inclusive and private-sector-responsive,” with emphasis on youth employment, employability, entrepreneurship, decent work and equal rights and opportunities.
She said the review would assess the implementation of NIYEAP 2021–2024, identify what worked and what did not, and translate the lessons into a stronger framework for 2025–2030.
“Youth employment is a multi-sectoral issue, and its effective implementation requires strong coordination across government institutions, social partners, the private sector, development partners, youth organisations and other stakeholders,” Dirisu said.
She identified digital and green economies, artificial intelligence, creative industries, renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, manufacturing, agro-processing, tourism, the care economy and platform-based work as emerging areas with significant potential for youth employment.
In his goodwill message, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, represented by Assistant Director, Employment and Wages Department, Cecilia Williams, called for closer alignment between NIYEAP and the revised National Employment Policy (NEP) 2025.
Dingyadi said youth employment could not be treated as a standalone intervention, stressing the need for policy coherence, institutional coordination, adequate financing, monitoring and accountability.
“Creating jobs for young people is important, but we must also ensure that those jobs provide fair opportunities, appropriate working conditions, rights at work, social protection and pathways for sustainable career development,” he said.
Representing NLC President Joe Ajaero, the Congress’ Women and Youth Department representative, Ifeoma Esther, said the review was timely, describing Nigerian youth as the country’s largest demographic segment and a major asset for future development.
Ajaero said young Nigerians possessed “the energy, creativity, resilience and entrepreneurial spirit required to transform our economy,” but warned that unemployment, skills gaps, limited access to finance, weak school-to-work transitions and unequal opportunities continued to constrain their prospects.
Also contributing, Ngo Okumaykong, Deputy Director, Department of Enterprise Development and Promotion, Federal Ministry of Youth Development, described NIYEAP as a roadmap for employability and employment, stressing the need for coordinated implementation.
The consultation brought together representatives of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development; Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment; ILO; GIZ; Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA); Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC); Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and other relevant MDAs, development partners, private-sector and youth stakeholders.
The collaboration with GIZ is being advanced through the SKYE II programme, with SEESIN supporting stronger employment governance, skills development, labour-market services and inclusive opportunities for young people.
The stakeholders agreed that the revised NIYEAP must move beyond policy declarations to clearly defined responsibilities, financing, implementation mechanisms and measurable outcomes, ensuring that Nigeria’s young population can access decent, productive and freely chosen employment. The four established NIYEAP priority areas are employability, entrepreneurship, employment, and equality and rights.
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