A cross section of Corp Members during the Honeywell Whole Wheat meal Cooking Competition yesterday at the NYSC Orientation Camp Agege Lagos. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke

…targets self sufficiency in cement production in 2012.

By Victoria Ojeme & Funmi Olasupo

Minister of Finance Mr Olusegun Aganga has disclosed that the number of unemployed Nigerians has risen to 12 million, since March 2009.

The Minister, who spoke during the inauguration of the Committee on Job Creation in Abuja, cited the statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2009.

Also, at the occasion, it was revealed that the Nigeria will soon achieve self sufficiency in cement, as a fall out of over $5billion investment in the sector by major cement manufacturers in the country.

Speaking during the inauguration of the Committee, Aganga regretted the rising level of unemployment, in spite of the appreciable level of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), put at 7.23% by the first quarter of this year.

“It is one of the ironies of our time that at a time the nation’s economy is growing, unemployment is growing equally” he lamented.

Describing the unemployment situation as unsalutary, the Minister noted that Nigeria, “parades some 12 million unemployed people. More alarming is the fact that the nation’s youth who are the hope of tomorrow form the bulk of this large brigade.

He stated further that, Nigerians between the age bracket of 15 to 24 years resident in urban areas account for 49.9% of the unemployed, while women form the highest ratio of unemployed Nigerians wit