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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government has expanded its skills and entrepreneurship programme to Oyo, Enugu and Kebbi states, with 1,200 youths targeted for training and starter equipment in the first nationwide phase.
The programme, under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), is part of government’s broader target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, Abiola Arogundade, said beneficiaries would be equipped with practical skills and tools to enable them secure jobs, establish businesses and become economically self-reliant.
Under the expansion, each geopolitical zone will host 200 trainees for between 10 days and two weeks, with skills selected according to local demand and participants’ preferences.
In Oyo State, representing the South-West, training is scheduled to begin on September 28, with beneficiaries receiving instruction in graphics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) design, makeup and fashion designing.
Enugu trainees will be trained in makeup, solar energy installation and fashion designing, while those in Kebbi will undergo training in graphics and AI design, fashion and agriculture, with emphasis on yoghurt production.
Arogundade said beneficiaries would also receive equipment to immediately put their skills to use and begin income-generating activities.
Graphics and AI trainees will receive laptops, fashion trainees sewing machines and starter kits, while makeup trainees will get fully equipped makeup kits. Those trained in yoghurt production will receive fermentation kits.
The programme was piloted in Abuja on June 30, 2025, with 10-day training in cybersecurity and web development as well as solar energy installation.
According to Arogundade, more than 7,000 applications were received for the pilot, with successful participants receiving laptops and certificates after completing the programme.
She said the nationwide expansion was aimed at reducing unemployment and underemployment, promoting entrepreneurship and self-reliance and contributing to the national poverty-reduction target.
Arogundade called on state governments, traditional rulers, community leaders and the private sector to support the initiative as it expands to more states.
She said the government was relying on technical, vocational and entrepreneurship education to provide sustainable pathways out of poverty and enable young Nigerians to build productive livelihoods.
