By Michael Oche
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Federal Government have commenced a review of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP) 2025–2030, as part of efforts to expand employment opportunities and tackle unemployment and underemployment among young Nigerians.
The review brought together employers, workers, development partners, youth organisations and other stakeholders on Monday at the United Nations Building in Abuja to examine the country’s youth employment challenges and develop a stronger framework for creating decent and sustainable jobs for young people.
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 provided an opportunity for Nigeria to develop a more coherent, realistic and results-oriented response to the youth employment challenge.
Phala, who was 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 a strong focus on youth employment, employability, entrepreneurship, decent work and equal rights and opportunities.
She said the review would assess the implementation of the previous NIYEAP 2021–2024, identify what worked and what did not, and use the lessons to develop 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 the 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 sectors with significant potential to create employment opportunities for young Nigerians.
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 should 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, described the review as timely, noting that Nigerian youths constituted the country’s largest demographic segment and remained 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 limit 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 improving employability and expanding employment opportunities, stressing the need for coordinated implementation across relevant institutions.
