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FG to generate jobs through services industry – Jonathan

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FG to generate jobs through services industry – Jonathan

FG to generate jobs through services industry – Jonathan
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Photo credit: West Africa Lifestyle

President Goodluck Jonathan hinted yesterday that the federal government was shoring up investments in the service industry to generate more job opportunities for Nigerians.

Jonathan, said, “The recent gross domestic product (GDP) rebasing result reveals that the services industry constitutes about 51 per cent of our GDP and employs many more Nigerians than we previously thought.

“Therefore, we are investing in sectors such as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and creative industry to generate more of such jobs which will be key to making our impressive recent economic growth record more inclusive.”

The president said this at the 16th meeting of the Honourary International Investment Council (HIIC) held the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He also identified the ICT and creative sectors of the industry as key areas of focus.

Jonathan was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the meeting with the theme “The Role of Skills, Education and Capacity Building for Economic Development in Nigeria.”

Reiterating his administration’s resolve to make Nigeria one of the world’s 20 most industrial nations by 2020, the president said the administration had significantly improved the country’s investment climate and would continue to take all necessary steps to enhance the competitiveness of local enterprises.

“We will continue to eliminate, as much as possible, distortions and privileges to create a sustainable level playing ground for all investors,” Jonathan said, adding that Nigeria’s position as the preferred destination for investment in Africa was being maintained despite security challenges.

Noting that within the last two months, the country had played host to several business delegations around the world who came to explore investment opportunities, Jonathan listed some of the delegations to include a Chinese delegation of 100 businessmen, 75 Kenyan businessmen, and 18 prospective investors from Switzerland.

He hinted that the second largest government enterprise in China, made up of 500 companies, also visited and pledged to invest in the power generation and transmission sector. He said the visits by the United States’ commerce secretary, accompanied by a delegation; a team from Pakistan and a delegation from the Netherlands were also worthy of note.

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