The Federal Government of Nigeria has asked States and Local governments to support its effort towards tackling unemployment by establishing Skill Acquisition Centres in all the local governments across the nation.

During an inspection of one of the Skill Acquisition Centres built by the National Directorate of Employment in Abuja on Monday, the Special Assistant to the President on Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Professor Sylvester Monye, said the initiative would help ensure that the stampede that occurred during the Nigeria Immigration Service’s recruitment exercise that left over 10 persons dead would not recur.

Addressing journalists after the inspection, the Director General of the directorate, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, said “the agency is making efforts to ensure that its Skill Acquisition Centres meet the required standards.

In the last unemployment rate released by the National Bureau of Statistics in Nigeria, unemployment stood at 23.9 per cent in 2011.

With the skill acquisition centres, the government hopes to reduce the figure and empower more youths to enable them establish their personal businesses.

To encourage Nigerians to put their acquired skills to work, the government, through the Bank of Industry, provides funds for start-ups and has advised Nigerians, during the economic summit held in Abuja in March, to access the provided funds.

Such Small and Medium Enterprises have been identified as major contributors to economic growth.