FG plans youth employment boost with 43 free trade zones

The Federal Government has planned to create 43 Free Trade Zones across the Nigeria as part of the measures to boost youth employment.

The Managing Director, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, while speaking in Lagos during the breakfast forum tagged, “Non-Oil Exports: Situation Report and Way Forward” organised by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce.

He reiterated the Federal Government commitment toward ensuring eligible Nigerians are gainfully employed across the country.

He added that the trade zones would create employment opportunities and reduce youth restiveness in Nigeria, thereby ensuring the younger generations contribute meaningful to nation building.

“The free trade zone as well as special economic zones provide the panacea to reinvigorate the non-oil sector in the face of dwindling and unstable revenue from oil, rising demand from foreign exchange, insecurity, external debt, etc,” Adesugba who was represented by an Assistant Director in the agency, Mr Augustine Onyekwelu, said

According to him, in these trying times of youth restiveness, the free trade zone is a veritable tool to tackle the problem of unemployment in addition to improving exports of non-oil products.

On her part, President of the Chamber, Dame Adebola Williams, raised concerns on the over-dependence on crude oil exports by Nigeria.