According to the statement issued on Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, called for accelerated action on jobs and social protection to avoid an uneven global recovery and prevent future crises.

Following this rises in loss of jobs and to avoid further loss, the UN chief convened leaders today to mobilise action.

“An estimated 8.8 per cent of total working hours – equivalent to the hours worked in one year by 255 million full-time workers – were lost in 2020,” he said.

“Because of the pandemic, there are an estimated 75 million fewer jobs in 2021 than there were before the crisis, and 23 million fewer projected in 2022. This corresponds to a loss of US$3.3 trillion in labour income before government support.”

To achieve a job-rich recovery and a just transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy, Guterres called for a “global accelerator for jobs and social protection that would create at least 400 million jobs and extend social protection to 4 billion women, men and children currently without coverage.”

“To achieve this goal, the policy brief entitled “Investing in Jobs and Social Protection for Poverty Eradication and a Sustainable Recovery” recommends several actions:

“Develop integrated national and inclusive recovery strategies for decent job creation, especially in the care and green sectors, universal social protection, and a just transition, and ensure they are aligned with macro-economic and fiscal policies and underpinned by sound data.

“Expand investment in Social Protection Floors as a percentage of GDP in national budgets. Design policy measures to extend social protection to workers in the informal economy, and to foster the progressive formalization of enterprises and employment, including in the care economy”, The statement added.

The registration which commenced on the 26th of June 2020 was scheduled to end on the 26th of July but it was extended by two weeks.

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq in a statement on Tuesday, by the SA to the minister on Strategic Communication, Halima Oyelade said the online portal closed on Sunday 9th of August, 2020 with a total of 5,042,001 applications.

According to the federal government, 400,000 applicants will be absorbed upon conclusion of the enrollment exercise.

The Minister stated that women and persons with disability will be prioritized during the selection process.

She also re-assured Nigerians that due diligence will be applied during the next stage of selection to ensure that only duly qualified applicants are enrolled.

Farouq added that her Ministry will ensure that the applicants, as well as the general public, are kept fully informed on the progress of the scheme.

She also explained that the N-Power programme is aimed at providing Nigerian youths with opportunities to gain skills for employability and entrepreneurship which will also, go a long way in assisting the country towards the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

The minister reiterated her Ministry’s commitment to the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari to lift 100 Hundred million Nigerians out of Poverty in the next l0 years.

According to her, the N-power programme is one of the platforms that can assist in the realization of that vision.

Ibrahim gave this observation in his office at Abuja when the Chief Executive Officer of Hall 7 Project, Olayinka Braimoh, came to visit him.

In his words, he noted that the  serious economic meltdown the pandemic has brought along and the scarcity of jobs has made it necessary for skill acquisition to become quite compelling

According to a statement by the NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations, Adenike Adeyemi, the DG was quoted as saying, “Jobs are not available like before and COVID-19 has also brought serious economic meltdown. We are ready for your collaboration that would bring tremendous benefit to our corps members and other youths in the country.”

Ibrahim had previously paid a visit to Braimoh in a bid to revisit an agreement earlier reached by the two entities with respect to the construction of a skills acquisition center at Ezi community in Delta State.

According to him, the expansion of the NYSC skills acquisition programme was one of the five policy thrusts of his administration which underscored the vigour with which he pursued it.

Adeyemi added, “Braimoh revealed that his company and NYSC had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the issue at hand, stating that a curriculum for the various skill sets had already been developed, awaiting the approval of NYSC for work to begin. He expressed delight at the DG’s passion for the project to come to fruition.”

DailyPost reported that WFP’s Senior Spokesperson, Elisabeth Byrs, noted this in a statement, adding that more than $182m is needed to sustain life-saving aid to Nigeria over the next six months.

According to Byrs, over 3.8 million citizens, especially those in the informal sector, could lose their jobs.

She also explained that figure could rise to 13 million if the restriction on movements persists for long.

“We are concerned by conflict-affected communities in North-East Nigeria who already face extreme hunger and who are especially vulnerable.

“They are on life-support and need assistance to survive,” Byrs said.

Byrs also revealed that three million vulnerable people in Abuja, Kano and Lagos would also receive assistance from the WFP.