From Msurshima Andrew, Makurdi
The Federal Government through the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), has commenced the registration of unemployed persons in the 23 Local Government Areas, (LGAs), of Benue state.
State Co-ordinator of NDE, Akile Patrick, who flagged off the exercise in Makurdi, also monitored the distribution of materials to local government areas liaison officers for the exercise.
Akile told the liaison officers to go to their areas and register all unemployed persons whether they are old or young.
He said the federal government understand the plights of the unemployed and has positive plans for their wellbeings.
“NDE headquartered in Abuja asked us to do (registration) it, so we know they have plans. It happened in 2018 and after we registered people, by 2020, each LGA was asked to employ 1000 people for the Public Works Scheme. So, this might just be a follow-up.
“Go back to your local government and do a thorough job and I’m sure that something will come out of it. We have two weeks to complete the exercise,” Patrick charged the liaison officers.
Also speaking, the Head of Department (HOD), Small Scale Enterprise (SSE) at the NDE in Benue, Mrs Abeje Mfam, educated the liaison officers on what to expect in the forms and materials distributed to them for the exercise.
She explained that unemployed persons who are between the ages of 18 and 60 are eligible for registration, and urged them to collect the necessary data for the exercise.
“Collect the data well by minimising errors and do it as a service to your people. The federal government has asked us, NDE, to do this registration and we can’t afford to fail,” she said.
