Less than three days to the end of 2016, some residents of Nsukka in Enugu State, have called on the Federal Government to create jobs and control inflation in 2017.
A cross section of the residents made the call on Thursday in Nsukka in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
They contended that for Nigeria to move forward and for the economy to improve, the current unemployment and inflation must be tackled in 2017.
Mr Chidi Urama, a banker, said that with the economic recession and low exchange rate of the naira to other currencies, the high inflation would not come down.
“More industries should be built by the government to create employment opportunities and increase foreign exchange.
“Government should also intensify efforts to resolve the problem in Niger Delta in order to increase barrels of crude oil produced in the country.
“Many Nigerians are going through difficult period because of the recession which has led to the high cost of goods and services’’he said.
In her submission, Mrs Ngozi Ezema, a lawyer, said the only way to reduce armed robbery, kidnapping, youth militancy and other crimes in the society was to provide jobs for millions of idle youths.
Ezema said: “the three tiers of government should give priority to job creation and empowering the youths.
“If the youths are employed or empowered, the level of crime in the country and the hardship faced by many families will reduce.
“There is also need for the government to empower the youths since they are future leaders of the country.’’
Mr Ken Ugwu, a civil servant, urged the government to pump more money into the agriculture sector to provide employment opportunities and secure the lives and properties of the citizens.
“The present high cost of food items in the markets is an indication that the food produced in the country is not enough for the population.
“Government should establish farm settlements in all the local councils; this will help to create more jobs as well as boost food production.
“After all before the advent of oil, agriculture was the main source of foreign exchange for the country and Nigeria’s economy was one of the best in the world then,’’ Ugwu said. (NAN)