Federal Government to employ 100,000 graduates

As the prices of foodstuff continue to skyrocket, the Nigerian federal government is set to turn things around. According to Vanguard, over 100,000 graduates are to be employed by the federal government.

These graduates will be assigned to farms in all local government councils across the country, as extension workers to help government actualize its food production drive to increase the availability of food in the country.

Chief Audu Ogbeh, the minister of agriculture and rural development, made this known shortly after he inspected various Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), improved agronomics practice farms at Sumaka and Taraku in Guma and Gwer local government areas of Benue state.

Mr Auta Appeh, the Senior Adviser to the minister on international donor partners said the initiatives were necessary because government “is doing everything to encourage our youths to take up farming as a business and not as a hobby.”

Dr Ameh Onoja the national programme coordinator of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD-VCDP), said that the organisation had constructed roads, cleared farmlands and provided inputs through its matching grants to farmers to help boost growth in the sector.

Acting chairman of Guma local government, Chief Gbor Igyo, also urged government to urgently provide tractors and other farming implements and inputs to farmers if the food sufficiency campaign of the present administration would become a reality.

Meanwhile, there were reports that a recently commenced recruitment exercise which held simultaneously at the 17 local government areas of Enugu state, as well as the College of Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu, witnessed a turn-out of thousands of applicants.

Whereas those whose names were shortlisted had their examination at the designated council areas, the CIC played host to thousands of applicants who had their names missing in the list.

However, signs that all was not well with the exercise started showing early in the morning as the applicants at the CIC waited from 7 am till 4 pm before the process for the test commenced. It was revealed that the recruitment was fraudulent.