NEWS
FG Unveils Initiative to Reduce Unemployment by 20% in 5 Years
The Federal Government has unveiled the National Youth Skills Programme (NYSP), a transformative initiative aimed at addressing youths unemployment and equipping them with essential skills for the future.Dr Jamila Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development, spoke at the unveiling event on Thursday in Abuja.
Ibrahim said that the programme was developed to tackle unemployment and equip young people with employable skills. “The key goals are to reduce youth unemployment by 20 per cent in the next five years and achieve up to a 50 per cent increase in youth-led enterprise. “Through regular assessment, feedback loops and data analysis, we will adjust our strategies as needed to ensure that we stay on track and that no one is left behind.“With the right skills and training, our youth cannot only find employment but also become the driving force behind these sectors, creating a ripple effect of job opportunities.’’According to her, beyond technical skills, the government is committed to empowering the youths with financial tools to succeed.“It is not enough to be skilled; we must ensure these young men and women have access to the capital they need to start their business.“Through the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund, we have already allocated 110 billion naira for the 2024 fiscal year to support youth-led businesses.“With the upcoming National Youth Development Bank, we will expand this, providing more youth with the grants, loans and mentorship they need to turn their ideas into thriving enterprise.’’The minister said that woman and persons with disabilities were often left out of the economic conversation.“That is why we are committed to ensuring that 50 per cent of programme participants will be female and we have designed specific pathways for young women to thrive in sectors like technology, healthcare and entrepreneurship.’’Ibrahim said that the framework would also allow them to track key performance indicators such as the number of jobs created, the success rate of youth-led businesses and the overall contribution to national economic growth.“We have also partnered with local and international organisations to ensure that persons with disabilities have full access to all training programmes, with necessary accommodation as well to be provided.“We will also measure long-term impacts such as income growth and poverty reduction.’’According to Ibrahim, NYSP is designed to target 11 key sectors crucial to Nigeria’s development– agriculture, renewable energy, digital economy and manufacturing.She listed others as healthcare services, creative arts, sustainable mobility, circular economy, teaching skills, mining and gemstone processing, and blue economy.“This dual focus on skills and financial support aims to address the gaps in previous initiatives that lacked sufficient backing.“The programme will also ensure nationwide outreach, utilisng digital platforms to connect with both urban and rural areas,’’ she said.More so, Dr Aminu Abdullahi, Senior Special Adviser to the Minister, reiterated the programme’s alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.Abdullahi said that the programme was aimed at equipping more than 5 million youth with employable skills and fostering entrepreneurship and innovation.According to him, the NYSP will implement a robust monitoring and evaluation framework to track progress and measure impact.He said that the framework would assess key performance indicators such as job creation, business success rates and economic contributions and annual evaluations.Abdullahi said that such would ensure transparency and continuous improvement, learning from past experiences to better support the youth.He called on private sector partners, government agencies and international organisations to collaborate in driving the NYSP’s success. (NANNEWS
Customs Intercept Contraband Worth N510.92m in Two Conths
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit Zone C, says it intercepted contrabands with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N510.92 million between July 15th and September 15th, 2024.The zone covers the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone and the five states in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
This is contained in a statement signed by Jerry Attah, Public Relations Officer, NCS, Zone C, and made available to journalists on Wednesday. According to the statement, Comptroller Michael Ugbagu, NCS, Zone C, gave the statistics while showcasing the seized contraband to relevant regulatory agencies at the Government Warehouse in Edo.Ugbagu said that the zone also recovered the sum of N25.57 million from demand notices raised based on some infractions noticed, making a cumulative sum of N536.49 million recorded within the months under review.“The DPV was derived from our seized goods, which include 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without an NAFDAC number.“1,015 sacks of dry donkey meat and skin, 75 jumbo bales of second-hand clothing, 463 cartons of foreign spaghetti, 269 pieces of used pneumatic tires, and 56 cartons of smuggled foreign tomato paste.“More worrisome is the interception of 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without NAFDAC registration numbers.”He noted that the cough syrup with codeine and tramadol without NAFDAC registration numbers, if not intercepted, could have had adverse effects on youths.He added that the items were mostly intercepted along the Ewu-Okada/Benin expressways based on credible intelligence. (NAN)NEWS
APC Forum Decries Deplorable Condition of Federal Roads
The Forum of Stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has decried the deplorable condition of some federal roads in Nigeria. Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the North-Central Chairman of the forum, said this in an interaction with newsmen on Wednesday in Jos. Zazzaga described some of the federal roads as ”death traps”, particularly those within the north-central region.
He said that some of the deplorable roads in the region include Jos-Akwanga, Makurdi-Oturkpo-Otukpa, Makurdi-Ankpa, and Jos-Saminaka. Other roads that needed urgent attention, he said, included Suleja-Minna, Ejule-Otukpa, Ganawuri-Manchok, Lokoja-Abuja, Lapai-Agaie-Bida, Birnin-Gwari-Bokani-Mokwa, Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora. ”Currently, the north-central region has the most deplorable roads and highways in the country. ”These deplorable roads have brought severe hardship on the people and lost lives and property through preventable road traffic crashes. ”We call on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure the rehabilitation of these roads because good roads are vital enablers of development,” he said. The chairman also called on governors of states within the region to reconstruct the dilapidated roads and seek refunds from the federal government. ”Though these are largely federal roads, they are located within states, and the beneficiaries are the people of these states. ”So we call on state governments to reconstruct these roads and seek refunds from the federal government,” he added. (NANNEWS
Yuan Strengthens 7. 087 Against Dollar
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 160 pips to 7.087 against the dollar on Wednesday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreigners exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)