By Favour Goodness
The President Muhammadu Buhari, has said that his regime plans to create up to 250,000 jobs from its efforts to connect up to five million households to solar power.
This is as he said growth figures were meaningless if they do not translate to good-paying jobs and improved standard of living for Nigerians.
Buhari who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stated this in an address delivered virtually at the opening of the 27th Nigerian Economic Summit, themed ‘Securing our future: The fierce urgency of now’.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘We have to take timely actions, immediate steps to achieve national goals, says Buhari’.
According to the President, to tackle existing problems and at the same time benefit from domestic and global trends, stakeholders both in the public and private sectors must take timely actions and immediate steps for Nigeria to achieve the desired national goals.
Buhari was quoted to have said, “The need for urgent action is even more pressing if we take account of the fact that we are now part of the African Continental Free Trade Area which calls for actions to position the economy to benefit from the opportunity that this regional integration grouping presents while at the same time protecting our industries and businesses from unfair competition.
“The Federal Government is responding to the challenges and opportunities of the moment by articulating forward-looking policies and strategies and implementing a coherent, clear and consistent set of actions to achieve our desired objectives.
The intention is to achieve broad-based and inclusive GDP growth to create 21 million jobs and lift 35 million people out of poverty by 2025.”
Speaking on the Solar Power Naija Project, the President said, “It is another project of the Economic Sustainability Plan that will lead to the creation of a large number of jobs.
“We expect up to 250,000 jobs to be created from this effort to connect up to five million households to solar power.
“This project is particularly important in the context of climate change and in enabling Nigeria to generate renewable electric power against the background of its nationally determined contribution towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
He called for more public-private partnerships in the transport sector, saying the efforts of the Federal Government were evident and yielding results.
Also in his remark, a former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Boshe, commended the leadership provided by Nigeria in improving the lives of the people through effective policy implementation and inclusive governance.
