The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode,
on Tuesday signed the N25bn Employment Trust
Fund Bill into law, declaring that the state was
ready to tackle unemployment.
The governor, who signed the bill at the State
House, Ikeja, said the occasion represented a
milestone for his administration to tackle the
problem of unemployment.
He explained that such would be done through
granting of soft loans to individuals for the
purpose of making them self-employed to create
wealth.
He promised to work hard to address
unemployment and promote wealth creation
through entrepreneurial development.
Ambode said, “During my campaign, one of the
promises I made to Lagosians was to establish
an ETF scheme to address the challenges of
unemployment in the state.
“Each year, the government will inject N6.25bn
into the fund for a period of four years, making
it N25bn cumulatively.
“A board of trustees made up of core
professionals will be announced in due course to
manage the fund. More information on the
operations of the fund will be revealed in due
course.”
Ambode had in November 2015 sent the ETF
Bill to the state House of Assembly for
approval. It was meant to be administered as
soft loans to residents of the state who desired
loans ranging from N100,000 to N1m, or more.
The Ministry of Wealth Creation and
Employment, which was created in June by the
governor, will oversee the affairs of the
scheme.
About one per cent interest rate will be charged
on the loan to take care of administrative
expenses.
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