The Federal Government has announced its intention to join the global outsourcing market, which generated nearly $350 billion for the top seven countries in it last year, and create more jobs for the youth.
The Outsource To Nigeria Initiative, a programme led by the private sector and enabled by the government, will be launched by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, on Monday, March 4, 2024, in Gombe State.
The programme, which is anchored by the Office of the Vice President, aims to create jobs in the business process and technology-enabled outsourcing sector, in line with President Tinubu’s agenda on job creation.
At a briefing in Abuja yesterday, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, said that OTNI would be the fastest way to ensure job security for the youth, as the global outsourcing market offers huge opportunities.
He said the Office of the Vice President was backing the initiative because “The jobs created in this sector are well-paying jobs, the market is growing rapidly, it is projected to grow to over half a trillion dollars by 2030.
”If we can get a big chunk of this market, it will not only be the alternative to oil, but also probably the biggest employer of young people in the country. This is why it has the full backing of the Office of the Vice President.”
“When you look at what global outsourcing partners are looking for, we are probably in a better position than even most of the countries engaged in it today.
”We are an English-speaking country, we now have better IT infrastructure than we had 10 years ago when the boom started. And we have the skill sets, we have the human resources – vibrant and young people to actively participate in this sector.”
He urged other state governors to follow Gombe’s example and leverage the OTNI launch to provide good jobs for their youths.
The founder and CEO of Outsource Global, Mrs Amal Hassan, who is the promoter of the programme, said that OTNI would be a game-changer for Nigeria’s business process and outsource sector.
She said the programme would gather all the talents in a worknation platform and train them according to the international market’s needs.
She added that the programme would also establish centres of excellence, engage in global branding and communication to showcase the strengths and capabilities of Nigerian talents, and deploy them to work in both the international and domestic markets.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has formed a 10-man committee to look into reducing air fares, especially on the international routes, after Nigerians complained about the high cost of air tickets.
The Acting Director General of NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, made this decision two days after meeting with foreign airlines in the country and asking them to unblock low inventory tickets that have been blocked for over 18 months.
The meeting, held at the NCAA headquarters in Abuja, had in attendance representatives from the NCAA, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, and the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies, NANTA, while the International Air Transport Association, IATA, made a presentation on behalf of foreign airlines.
Chaired by Director of Special Duties, NCAA, Mr Horatius Egua, the committee is tasked with ensuring that foreign airlines comply with the directives of the government to unblock all low inventory tickets and recommend appropriate ticket pricing.
Egua, who represented by Najomo at the meeting held between February 12 and 13, 2024, in Abuja, lamented the air fares which he described as discriminatory.
He said: “We cannot continue to pay higher fares, compared to other countries in the sub-region that have similar distances, using the same operating aircraft.
”We have the market and in some cases, we have more liberal taxes. This is unacceptable and we reject this.
“For instance, a distance of six hours from Ghana to London may sometimes cost about $800, while a similar distance with similar operating aircraft costs over $2000 in Nigeria. This is discriminatory and an unfair practice and we reject this in totality.”
Meanwhile, after the NCAA’s intervention, Lufthansa German Airlines, KLM, Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, British Airways, Royal Air Maroc, RwandAir and Turkish Airlines have released all categories of low inventory tickets, while Air France has yet to effect adjustments.
