Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung has announced the federal government’s readiness to roll out another empowerment programme for youths across the country.
He said this was a practical demonstration of its commitment towards addressing youth redundancy and unemployment.
He made the announcement on Thursday while addressing journalists on the sidelines of the African Youth Day celebration held in Abuja.
According to him, the new programme, which differed in mode and methodology from the currently running N-Power intervention, will not only be youth-oriented but fully driven by youths themselves under the supervision of the federal government.
He said while the N-power programme was floated as federal government’s approach towards addressing the crisis situation of high graduate unemployment, the new programme will create silos of youth engagement with government based on the visions and aspirations of the youths themselves.
He said that the silos of engagement will provide platforms for fashioning out the best ways the federal government can empower and position youths across the country as lead participants in economy and governance.
Dalung, who also admitted that government needs to stop paying lip-service to youth empowerment, said: “Youth engagement and empowerment is very important to this Administration, because it understands that the future of this country lies with the limitless potentials of the youths.
“For us as a ministry, we have packaged a fresh programme for the youths which differs from the current N-Power. We have also obtained President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval for the roll out of the programme which will commence soon.
“The Programme is not only youth-oriented but youth driven because it will create silos of engagements to be managed by young people themselves under the supervision and regulation of the government.
“The programme will address the problems of youth redundancy and unemployment as well as position young people for lead participation in the economy and governance of the country.
“It will also support and promote the development of millions of Micro, Small and Medium scale youthpreneurs as investments made in the youth who are our greatest assets will actually determine the development trajectory of the country over the next 50 years.
The Minister added that since Nigeria is already blessed with a very productive youth segment; government’s role in their development lies in the provision of proper platform for engaging and empowering them beyond the two years period the N-Power intervention affords graduate participants.
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