The Benue Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, has expressed concern over the high level of graduate unemployment in the country.
He said lack of skill acquisition and entrepreneurship education remains the root cause of the high rate of unemployment in the country.
Alia spoke in Abuja on Thursday when he paid what he described as a solidarity visit to the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono.
The governor said that his administration would give education top priority in Benue as he sought partnership with the fund to boost the quality of tertiary education delivery.
He commended TETFund management for the huge intervention in public tertiary institutions in the state and the nation at large.
According to him, “What I discovered as responsible for the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria is that a lot of degrees have been acquired by youth in the country, but the skills are not attached to those degrees.”
He said this was responsible for the reasons why both graduates and those who had not obtained formal education roam the streets.
Alia said his administration would go back to the table to revitalise education in the state, saying that tertiary institutions in Benue were once known for quality and scholarship.
“We are here on a solidarity visit with my brother, the Executive Secretary of TETFund.
”I am honoured to be here, having understood how much he has been doing, promoting education nationwide and improving on the teaching and learning infrastructure, as well as making the educational wheel of the nation run smoothly.
“Benue is also a beneficiary of the projects from you and the good people of the state have conveyed our appreciation to your establishment.
”I am just eight days old as a governor, and I am looking forward to partnering with your establishment in the collaborative efforts to move education forward in our nation,” he said.
