By Job Osazuwa

Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday, said the Federal Government will soon create over 800, 000 direct jobs across the country.

He said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration would train and employ 500, 000 graduate volunteers as  teachers, adding that another 300, 000 non-graduates would be engaged in different areas of vocations.

Osinbajo reaffirmed that the Federal Government will pay N5, 000 monthly stipend to only extremely poor and vulnerable one million Nigerians already identified through a social register. He clarified that Buhari never said he would pay unemployed youths N5, 000 while campaigning last year.

The vice president said this at The Nation’s Economic Forum tagged: “National Economy: The Way Forward”, held at Airport Hotel, Lagos.

Osinbajo said the Federal G     overnment was working round the clock to improve security, tackle corruption and revitalise the economy through diversification.

“To move the nation’s economy forward, federal and state governments must work together for the common goal,” the vice president affirmed.

He said it was also critical for the Federal Government to look beyond oil and focus on improving infrastructures, such as roads, power and rail projects.

He listed agriculture, Solid Mineral, Sports, Tourism, Culture and others, which needed urgent intervention for the country’s rapid development.

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He stated that the government was increasing low-interest lending rate to entrepreneurs, especially in critical areas, as well as cutting cost of governance and growing more revenue by cleaning up the number of government workers. He revealed that, so far, 23, 000 ghost workers had been fished out and disengaged.

Osinbajo, who also spoke on electricity, assured Nigerians that government was not resting on its oars to improve power generation and distribution.

“We intend to stabilise power but, the problem is, we have to get gas to those plants that will generate the power. Vandalisation of gas plants is part of the problems we are facing. Our transmission facility is also not adequate; even if we generate 12, 000 megawatts, we can’t transmit more than 5, 000 megawatts. But we hope to get gas from different sources so that power will be stabilised.

Host governor, Akinwunmi Ambode said for Nigeria’s economy to improve, the leaders must have the courage to take difficult and tough decisions.

He noted that the nation’s economy was at a critical threshold and required the leaders to think outside the box and come up with creative innovations that would trigger economic growth nationwide.

“It is very unfortunate that we wasted the golden opportunity to deploy trillions of dollars earned from our oil exports to develop the critical sectors of the economy including power, agriculture, industries, solid minerals, transportation infrastructure among others.

“No doubt, if we had done the right thing as some other oil producing countries did, keeping in mind that crude oil is a finite resource, we would not be experiencing the devastating effect of oil price crash on the scale today.

“We are now being forced to do, with pains, what we should have done with ease years ago. The task of charting a new direction for the economy is not going to be a tea party. Various policy options must be identified and assessed on the basis of our current situation and needs.