22/05/2025
ADDRESS BY
OTUNBA KAYODE FASAE, HONOURABLE COMMISSIONER FOR WEALTH CREATION & EMPLOYMENT be AT
THE INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK AT THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY, OYE-EKITI
THURSDAY, 22nd MAY 2025.
PROTOCOL
1. It gives me a great pleasure to address the participants particularly the students and the Youth at this event tagged βInnovation and Entrepreneurship Weekβwhich I understand is focusing on assisting the students to develop the mindset of embracing ideation from concept to actuality with a view become a business owner as well as job creators. First and foremost, let mecommend the organizers of this event for coming up with such an interactive platform designed to raise the level of consciousness on the development of the individual as a panacea to engage, enrich, empower and improveproductivity. As the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, and a critical stakeholder in employment and wealth creation, I am glad to share with you the focus of the Ministry in this direction.
2. Without doubt, one of the major causes of rising youth unemployment in our country is the lack of industry sought-after skills. It is evident that the skills required by most employers of labour are not included in the regular learning curriculum, consequently, there is a huge skillsgap in the labour market, hence the need for intervention programs to develop the skills that employers are looking for. Another notable trend in the Nigerian labour market is the overwhelming leaning of our education curriculumto produce jobseekers with little or no focus on producing entrepreneurs who will create jobs. Ekiti State Government is conscious of these shortcomings and has created a substantive Ministry with the mandate to create wealth and employment. To address the situation, the Ministry is adopting a two-pronged approach of using well-tested policy tools that will go a long way to prepare the youth for a more engaging labour market experienceand on the other hand, boost entrepreneurship.
3. The first policy tool adopted by the Ministry is the establishment of a Labour Market Information System (LMIS) which serves as the platform for policy makers,employers of labour and job seekers as a veritable source of labour market information. LMIS has been used across the world to provide different strata of stakeholders with the required information to make decisions on the required skills, trainings, and available jobs. I am pleased to inform you that the LMIS platform will provide statistical and non-statistical information concerning labour market actors and development in their environment as well as information on labour market institutions, policies and regulations that serve the needs of users. Incidentally, the LMIS was official launched on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 β at about the time when this program was starting. As a step to sensitise the students of tertiary institutions, I met with the authorities of higher education institutions in Ekiti State including thisUniversity a few weeks ago where I mentioned the plan to onboard its graduating students to the LMIS platform.
4. Another major policy tool employed by the Ministry is the establishment of Ekiti State Employment Trust Fundwhich is designed to ignite a pool of funds for the purpose of providing financial support to residents,mostly the youth in Ekiti State, to tackle unemployment. The Fund will operate with seed money from the State Government as well as raising additional funding from various sources including donor partners, development agencies, corporate organisations and individuals with the sole aim of providing finance for innovative and entrepreneurial ventures.
5. The Ministry is fully aware and conscious of the positive impacts of skills development in achieving the twin goals of wealth creation and employment. Let me use this opportunity to inform you that the Ministry, in partnership with some participating banks, is set to roll out agency banking in pursuit of deepening financial inclusion and spurring financial intermediation in underbanked areas of the State. The flag-off ceremony is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, signifying the roll out of an enhanced agent banking operation to boost savings β a necessary condition for investment promotion.
6. As I conclude, I would like to state that the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment will continue to deepen engagements with the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti in proffering appropriate solutions to creating wealth and employment issues.
Thank you and God bless.
Otunba Kayode Fasae
Hon Commissioner, Ministry of Wealth Creation & Employment.
