By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja

The Idealab Agency on Monday , urged the National Assembly to live by example by patronising ‘Made In Nigeria’ Products and Services’ to create and sustain employment in the country.Idealab Agency is a body registered to address the challenges of small holder farmers and micro small and medium enterprises in accessing intervention funds in the country.

Director General, Idealab Agency, Emmanuel Aondoakaa who made the appeal at press conference in Abuja, also sought partnerships for the disbursement of grants, aid, scholarships, market access, employment placements and loan programmes facilitations, amongst others with special digital skills trainings. Aondoakaa said partnership became necessary because of the current realities in the economy where so many Nigerians were facing severe difficulties and living below poverty line due to the total removal of fuel subsidy.He however, said with these enormous challenges the people were facing, the Federal Government in collaboration with the World Bank Group has put up intervention programmes to mitigate those difficulties and create a more prosperous future for all Nigerians especially the youths and women through the Investment in Digital Economy and Creative Enterprise with the Idealab Programme. “One of such intervention programmes is called, the Federal Government Talent Export Initiative where ordinary Nigerians can be trained on high level digital skills to tap into the globalisation economy by living in Nigeria and working remotely for interventional brands and earning as much as N10 million monthly.”…Travel abroad through direct employment with the World Bank Group and other partner nations/multinationals by acquiring some special skills sets through the Idealab Agency with 100% fully funded sponsorships. “Since the presidency targets lifting 50 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2027 with the implementation of these intervention programmes, Idealab Agency is calling on the National Assembly’s Stakeholders to embrace these programmes on her platform through mobilisation and awareness creation to enlist more beneficiaries from their federal constituencies to access the opportunities as grants, and scholarships, etc to solve the problems of poverty and create wealth in the country,” Aondoakaa added.On her part, the chairman of Idelab Board, Dr Christiana Solanke-Olajide, noted that grant related crisis in Nigeria today among popular and unpopular humanitarian organisation and individuals, called for urgent government intervention targeting lifting 50 millions Nigerian out of poverty by 2027 with implementation of programmes. Solanke-Olajide commended President Bola Tinubu’s target of lifting 50 millions Nigerians out of poverty by 2027 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which called for action for ‘ideas lab’ and innovations, skill acquisition and creation of jobs opportunity. “Vocational and Financial Empowerment for unemployed are done quarterly in a year in our own little way quarterly: Janvuary/April, May/August, September/December. Vocational and financial Empowerment for employed is with a focus on women/youth, with work we train and empower them in different fields, catering, tailoring, soap making creative innovations and animal husbandry. “The second part of the VFE which is May-August is skills acquisition for widows in various states and communities, trainings and products execution through agricultural produce. The third part of Vocational Financial Empowerment is called ‘mercy week’ where attention is set on the less privilege, children and youth in giving scholarships and free medical attention with numerous rows and physical materials as aids,” she stated.