Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has appealed to Nigeria youths to channel their energies towards the production of goods and services locally.

Mr Emefiele was speaking on Thursday at a meeting to kick start the pilot phase of the Youths Entrepreneurship Programme in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

As over 1,000 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) are expected to benefit from the scheme, he said the programme would reduce the pressure on the nation’s foreign exchange.

The CBN Governor noted that the National Bureau of Statistics put the recent unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2016 at 42%.

He expressed optimism that reverse could be the case if more youths gain financing that would help boost their businesses.

The Director General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Sule Kazaure, commended the development.

He explained that the CBN and the NYSC were seeking to address the inability of the young population to access knowledge on finance schemes that could help them develop and grow their businesses. (Channels TV)

•Photo shows CBN Governor Emefiele.