The Federal Government has expanded its National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy to Oyo State as part of efforts to equip young Nigerians with practical skills and promote entrepreneurship.
In a statement on Thursday, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, Dr Abiola Arogundade, said the initiative was a key component of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She said the programme was aimed at contributing to the Federal Government’s target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.
“Nigerian youths are not the problem facing the country but the solution to its challenges,” she said.
Arogundade said the programme was being expanded across the country’s six geopolitical zones, with 200 trainees selected from each zone during the initial phase.
She said, “In total, 1,200 Nigerian youths will benefit from this initial phase of the programme nationwide.”
The presidential aide said the training would run for between 10 days and two weeks, with the skills offered in each state determined by “local market demand, relevance, and trainee preferences.”
On the Oyo State programme, Arogundade said, “Training will be on the 28th of September, 2026, running daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for two weeks.”
She said trainees in the state would receive training in “Graphics/Artificial Intelligence (AI) design, Makeup and Fashion designing.”
Arogundade added that each participant would receive a complete training kit at the end of the programme.
“Each participant will receive a complete training kit during the programme, which they will take home upon completion,” she said.
She explained that the kits would include “laptops for Graphics/AI trainees, fully equipped makeup kits for Makeup trainees, and sewing machines and starter kits for Fashion Designing trainees.”
The programme’s objectives include equipping Nigerian youths with practical and marketable skills, reducing unemployment and underemployment, promoting entrepreneurship and self-reliance, and contributing to the Federal Government’s poverty reduction target.
