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QNET joins the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment for Youth Employability Training in Nigerian
QNET, a global lifestyle and wellness-focused direct-selling company, has joined the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment’s Employability Training Programme to empower Nigerian youth. This initiative is part of QNET’s ongoing “Say No!” awareness campaign to combat fake job offers leading to illegal migration across Africa.
The training, held in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, brought together young individuals seeking employment opportunities.
The two-day programme featured a curriculum designed to equip participants with essential skills for safely navigating the job market.
Highlighting the Critical Need for Fraud Prevention and Skills Development at the event, Biram Fall, QNET’s regional general manager, addressed the participants on recognizing and avoiding fraudulent job offers.
According to him, “We are proud to partner with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in this critical initiative, as the unemployment rate of 53.4% remains alarmingly high.
“Investing in robust training and continuous education programmes is essential for creating a resilient and competent workforce.
“By doing so, we are protecting them from financial loss and boosting their employability against scams and fraudulent activities.”
He also highlighted the challenges QNET faces in Nigeria and other West African countries, where miscreants use the QNET name to lure unsuspecting youth into fake job offers.
He outlined the steps the company is taking to combat this through extensive public education programmes.
“We have witnessed first-hand the devastating impact of these criminal activities on young people who have fallen victim to fake job scams being propagated in our name.
“It is alarming to note how people with ill intentions are able to defraud unsuspecting victims who are just looking for a job to improve their life.
“We’ve realised that the only way to combat this rising menace is through the power of education. That is why this training program by the FMLE is such a powerful platform,” he said.
On the Ministry’s Dedication to Youth Empowerment, Miss Augustina Uka, Senior Labour Officer at FMLE, spoke about the Ministry’s dedication to empowering youths: “Our commitment to enhancing the employability of young Nigerians is unwavering.
“The Ministry has created the National Electronic Labor Exchange (NELEX) project, an innovative electronic platform designed to transform FMLE’s employment exchanges into a robust database of employable manpower in Nigeria to facilitate job exchange and labour mobility.
“We aim to provide the necessary tools and resources for the Nigerian youth to succeed in the competitive job market. Through our collaboration with QNET, we understand the company and their aim to help people live better lives by educating and empowering youths with the knowledge on how to identify and avoid fake job offers, such as the Say NO! Awareness campaign.
“FMLE wishes to work closely with QNET moving forward to help deliver on the mandate of the Ministry, which is to create an enabling environment for job creation, leading to increased employment opportunities and economic growth in Nigeria.”
Akam Comfort Dufang, a participant in the training programme, shared her experience: “The training programme taught us employability, entrepreneurship, and management skills, and helped us identify available job opportunities in Nigeria.
“Also, I had heard of QNET before and believed it was a fraudulent company, but through this programme and hearing from a QNET representative about their efforts to combat misinformation, my perspective has changed.”
Another participant shared his story about nearly falling victim to a job scam. He was offered a lucrative salary but was asked to pay an upfront fee before starting.
He even sold his laptop to make the payment. Fortunately, he was saved by the news that the person offering the job had been arrested by the police. He expressed gratitude for the invaluable education received.
QNET’s Commitment to Positive Social Impact
QNET remains committed to making a positive impact on society by supporting training programmes like the FMLE initiative to enhance employability among Nigerian youth and foster a safe, informed job market.
Over the past two years, QNET’s FinGreen financial literacy programme has equipped over 1,350 Nigerian youth with essential skills for financial independence. Additionally, QNET has collaborated with agencies like the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) to expand awareness efforts, educating youth on the dangers of fake job offers and human trafficking.
In Nigeria, QNET operates through its franchise partner Transblue Limited.
News
HURIWA Says FG is Suffocating Nigerians with 10 Per Cent VAT Hike
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has tackled the federal government over the plan to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent and demanded that the increase be reversed immediately.
The body accused the FG of imposing additional financial strain on Nigerians, stating that its policies were driving the population into deeper poverty.
Describing the FG’s fiscal policies as suffocating, HURIWA warned that the actions, allegedly being influenced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and individuals like Bill Gates, could ignite widespread unrest.
In a statement signed by Emmanuel Onwubiko, national coordinator, HURIWA called for an immediate reversal of the VAT hike and other “suffocating” fiscal measures that were compounding the economic suffering of the populace.
The group warned that Nigerians might not endure further deterioration of their economic conditions which could lead to civil disobedience.
“The VAT increment is just one in a series of damaging financial measures. Since the removal of fuel subsidies, petrol prices have surged by over 200 per cent, with ripple effects on transportation, food, and other essential commodities. The average Nigerian, especially in low-income groups, is struggling to afford basic necessities,” the statement reads in part.
The rights group further lamented the effect of inflation on the housing sector, as rising costs had forced landlords to increase rent, pushing many citizens to the edge of homelessness.
“The Nigerian government is making choices that benefit these institutions but leave the Nigerian people worse off. The well-being of citizens is being sacrificed for economic targets dictated by foreign entities,” HURIWA stated.
News
Mutual Benefits Decries Low Insurance Penetration, Seeks Policy Changes
Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc has decried the low insurance penetration in the country, calling for policy changes to increase insurance uptake by Nigerians.
Mr. Femi Asenuga, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Mutual Benefits, who made the call at a workshop for insurance journalists, advocated for media support in ensuring policy changes, shaping public understanding of insurance and deepening insurance penetration in Nigeria.
While emphasizing the important role of the media in educating the insuring public on how insurance contributes to economic resilience, he said the ability of insurance journalists to communicate the complexities of insurance in a relatable and impactful way is vital in building public trust and confidence in the industry as well as encouraging more people to embrace insurance.
Asenuga said: “We are far from where we are supposed to be as a country. Nigeria with a population of over 200 million and as the giant of Africa should not only be in theory. As the press, you have a major role to play in changing the narrative of insurance penetration in the country.
The change is not only expected at the consumer level but also at policy making because that is where everything starts from.”
In her presentation “The Role of Insurance in National Development,” Head, Technical Department, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc., Mrs. Titilayo Akinsiku, highlighted some of the roles insurance plays in national development.
They include, according to her, Risk Mitigation and Financial Stability; Business Continuity and Resilience; Social Welfare and Inclusivity; Risk Management and Sustainable Development as well as Investment and Capital Formation.
News
Thabo Mbeki Tells African leaders to Emulate Relationship Between Nigerian and South African Musicians
Thabo Mbeki, former President of South Africa has advised current African presidents to emulate the impressive relationship between Nigeria and South African musicians.
Mbeki said the African artists have managed to forge a formidable relationship and strong collaborative strategies which has seen them popularise both countries’ entertainment sectors and create wealth for the industry’s participants but the political leaders in Africa are locked in baseless egocentrism and territorialism which prevents generation of wealth amongst African countries.
Mbeki said before now that Africa used to be feared due to a strong pan-Africanism consciousness among leaders and deliberate policy formulations directed towards giving it a force of power.
He, however, regretted that today’s leaders lack such political will, are more Eurocentric and lack clear direction on how Africa should remain a liberated continent.
“Political will to manage diversity is central to the survival of all of the African states because there’s no African state which is not characterized by the diversity of its population now,” Mbeki said at his Thabo Mbeki Foundation premises, Johannesburg while hosting the third cohort of the MTN-MIP Fellows
“And so if you want to keep a continent or a country together, there’s got to be a conscious political decision. There is one outstanding example in this regard – Tanzania.
“When Tanzania was known as Tanganyika, there were two very important decisions under Julius Nyerere to keep the whole country together. One of them was to have one central language.
“Nyerere decided that everybody must speak Swahili and abandon tribal or regional languages. So, everybody speaks Swahili. The second decision was the abolition of the institution of chieftaincy ship. So there’s no chief of this tribe or that tribe.
“These were conscious decisions taken by the political leadership. They wanted to build one nation out of the Tanganyikans, and it’s worked.
“So, because the people of Tanzania have gotten used to being one, even some few years back when some political people, in Tanzania, started resurrecting this matter about tribal identity in order to advance their own political futures, the consciousness one united Tanzania, was strong enough to defeat them.
“So, that’s why I’m saying it’s a political decision here. South Africa is very fortunate in that respect, because you know, the diamond mines, which were first discovered in the 19th century, attracted people from Southern Africa, from as far as Angola among others to South Africa.
“Then a bit later, gold mining came and domestically, there was a lot of movement of people, and social economic development.
“Recall that at the formation of the African National Congress in 1912, one of its principal slogans was to bury the demon of tribalism.
“So since the beginning of the 20th century, you’ve had a political organization whose task was to make sure that all of this algorithm come together so that you see you got to a point before liberation here, if you said in 1960 to the African community here, wherever you are in the country, you say, who’s your national leader? They would say Alberto.
“So, what has happened on the continent is a regression from the kind of pan-Africanist commitment that we had with other earlier leaders on the continent, and the weakening of that resolve has negative consequences like the frosty relationship between South Africa and Nigeria.
“Another is the poor Visa regulation which has made it very difficult for cross border trade.
“And now addressing the challenge is to address the larger political problems. The point is always being made about the relationship between the artists, Nigerian, South African artists, and what they are able to do,” he added.
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