The National Productivity Centre (NPC) has sought for collaboration with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to achieve optimum productivity and national economic growth which he said is the cardinal objective of the federal government.
NPC Director General Dr. Nasir Olaitan Raji Mustapha made this known during a courtesy visit to his counterpart at the NDE Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo in Abuja
He said the presence of NDE in 774 local government areas in the country underscored the importance of the directorate to the bridging the unemployment gap in the country
A statement by Deputy Director Information and Public Relations, Israel Adekitan, said “we have a lot in common; there is need for collaboration and synergy between the two organizations. We want to share the enriched capacity of the NDE. We have the techniques that can add values to your job creation programmes and schemes including the people you have trained to create jobs”. “We are located in just Twenty (20) States, NDE has all the spread including the 774 local area councils in the country, we want to leverage on that to reach Nigerians and boost national productivity”.
In his response, NDE Director-General Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo observed that history was being made by the two organizations that incidentally are under the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.
He said: “It is the first time that agencies within the Federal Ministry and Employment are coming together for collaboration purpose”.
The NDE boss further stressed the need for cooperation among government agencies of like minds and mandates.
Fikpo said “synergy is very important and cannot be over-emphasized especially among agencies of similar mandates in order for the government at the centre to achieve more rather than engage in petty jealousy and rivalry”.
He said NDE was “determined to checkmate unemployment which is on the rise in the country due to many variables which include creation of many institutions of learning without proper planning on how to absorb the graduates and the damages done too many industries by the Covid 19 pandemic.”
NDE, he said, operates within limited budgetary allocation which has curtailed her activities in some areas of job creation.
“NDE budget is limited, so the agency is careful about where to spread its tentacles. Nevertheless, NDE in the last three months has created over five hundred (500) micro businesses nationwide through training and financial empowerment”. “Apart from providing the basics in job creation such as marketable skills and starter packs, NDE also provides mentorship on how to increase value in market places,” he said.
