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COVID-19: Groups Decry Rising Unemployment, Call For Increased Investment In Akwa Ibom, Others

Through creating jobs for our people, we have no doubt that the local economy will be opened and more households can be liberated. We appreciate your steadfastness in service delivery.

Two youth organisations in Akwa Ibom State, Afe Mkparawa Annang and Supreme Council of Ibibio Youths, have decried the rising levels of unemployment across Nigeria, calling for more investments to open up local economies to empower more households and individuals.

According to the groups, the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic has further escalated things, piling pressure on the economy and leading to thousands of job losses for many Nigerians.

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While commending a Turkish investor, Mr Onur Kumral, whose companies – Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Limited, and Kings Flour Mill Limited – the groups said had created employment for many young people in Nigeria, Afe Mkparawa Annang and Supreme Council of Ibibio Youths said the Nigerian Government must create an enabling environment for more foreign investors to bring their money into the country and help reduce the unemployment index by creating jobs.

In a letter of commendation to Kumral, Afe Mkparawa Annang through its President, Prince Adede Uduak Akpan, said Kumral’s three establishments had provided over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians, thereby contributing to the state's Internally Generated Revenue over the years.

The letter reads in part, “We are pleased to inform you that following your impact in Nigeria especially in Akwa Ibom State in the area of job creation and employment generation for Nigerians, Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Limited and its Chairman, Mr Onur Kumral, have been nominated for an award of excellence by our organisation.

“We in Afe Mkparawa Annang are very hopeful that this award will inspire you even more to continue to create jobs for Nigerians.”

Also commending Kumral for strengthening the local economy through job creation, Supreme Council of Ibibio Youths President, Atauko Samuel Brown, and General-Secretary, Iwaad Akanimo Lawrence, called on the Nigerian Government to enact policies that will attract more foreign investors into the country.

The group said, “The VKS Group comprising Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Limited and Kings Flour Mill Limited have given Akwa Ibom State a new face and a place of pride among the comity of states in the country.

“Through creating jobs for our people, we have no doubt that the local economy will be opened and more households can be liberated. We appreciate your steadfastness in service delivery.

“It is our belief that you will maintain your integrity in all facades of projects.”

Restating his group’s commitment to wealth creation in Akwa Ibom and other parts of Nigeria, the VKS Chairman said, “We are in Nigeria to build viable business concerns, transfer advanced technology to Nigerians, train and retrain the people and position them to grow their economy and create more job opportunities in the future.

"We are on course with our vision. Our industries; Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Limited and Kings Flour Mill Limited are already producing and supplying to the local markets. Youths have been employed. Some Nigerians were sent to Turkey for advanced training in different areas and they are doing quite well and training others.”

According to economic analyst, Olumide Durojaiye, only concerted efforts by government at all tiers in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders will help Nigeria’s economy withstand the cracks created by the outbreak of Coronavirus.

He said massive job creation to absorb a sizeable chunk of Nigeria’s teeming youthful population was one of the best ways out to the country’s rising unemployment index, which has dire consequences on crime rate. 

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