The Federal Government said it is working to create one million export-linked jobs and produce 10 million globally certified Nigerians by 2030 through reforms in education and skills development.

This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by Mr Ikharo Attah, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa.

Attah quoted Alausa to have said this at the “Hire From Nigeria” side event on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Alausa said the Federal Ministry of Education was playing a key role on the supply side of the National Talent Export Programme by building a talent pipeline linked directly to global employment opportunities.

He said the ministry was repositioning Nigeria’s education and skills system to produce trained, certified and adaptable talent capable of competing in the global outsourcing and digitally enabled services market.

According to him, Nigeria’s youthful population, English-language advantage, cultural adaptability and growing digital capabilities provide a strong foundation for participation in the global services economy.

“Nigeria’s greatest asset is its people: a young, ambitious, English-speaking and increasingly digitally capable population.

‎“Our task in Education is to turn that scale into verified competence and reliable service delivery,” he said.

Alausa said skills, quality and reliability would determine Nigeria’s competitiveness in a rapidly changing global market.

He identified the gap between training and evolving employer demand, limited work-based learning opportunities and access to internationally recognised certification as some of the challenges requiring attention.

The minister said the ministry was addressing the challenges through curriculum reform, stronger accreditation and quality assurance, as well as expanded digital and technical training.

“We need a permanent employer-led feedback loop, not occasional curriculum reviews,” he said.

Alausa stressed the need for employers to participate in programme design, training, assessment, certification and recruitment.

He said the reform agenda also sought to change perceptions of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) by positioning skills training as a pathway to income, enterprise and global opportunities.

The minister disclosed that the Federal Government’s free TVET programme had attracted more than one million applications, with 160,000 trainees supported through about 1,200 centres nationwide.

He said the centres included Federal Technical Colleges and accredited private training centres.

Alausa said the government was also promoting multiple pathways to employment and enterprise through university education, TVET, apprenticeships and continuous upskilling.

He said each pathway was designed to provide opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and further learning.

The minister said preparing young Nigerians for an economy increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and advanced technologies was another priority.

“We must train young people to work with artificial intelligence, not to compete with it on routine tasks,” he said.

He said the focus was increasingly on skills that complemented technology, including judgement, creativity, domain knowledge, data literacy, cybersecurity, cloud services, software development, customer success and quality assurance.

Alausa said the Digital Training Academy was partnering with global learning providers, including Coursera and Pluralsight, to provide 32,000 Nigerians with free access to professional digital and technology training.

He said the programme covered fields including product management, cloud computing, cybersecurity, information technology automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning, financial technology and natural language processing.

The minister added that the Student Venture Capital Grant was supporting students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) disciplines to translate innovative ideas into viable enterprises.

Given the pace of technological change, Alausa said Nigeria’s education system must enable young people to learn, unlearn and retrain throughout their careers.

He therefore urged international employers, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operators, investors and development partners to move beyond expressions of interest towards practical partnerships and investable talent pipelines.

He urged employers to define their skills requirements, co-design training programmes, provide work-based learning, recognise credible Nigerian certifications and recruit from Nigerian talent pools.

Alausa also urged BPO operators and investors to establish and expand delivery centres beyond Nigeria’s largest commercial cities while supporting training infrastructure, connectivity, quality systems and management capability.

He said development partners could support the initiative through scalable certification, instructor development, inclusion of women and underserved communities, labour-market intelligence and outcome measurement.

The minister said international institutional partnerships and centres of excellence in Nigerian institutions would further strengthen global linkages, benchmarking and knowledge transfer.

He said the ministry would deepen industry participation in curriculum development and certification, expand market-relevant TVET and digital-skills pathways, and strengthen accreditation and quality assurance.

Alausa reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to aligning education reform with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on human capital development, job creation, skills acquisition and inclusive economic growth.

He said the ministry would continue to build an education and skills system that connected Nigerian talent to opportunities, strengthened Nigeria’s position in the global economy and enabled young Nigerians to build sustainable careers at home and abroad. (NAN)

From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has urged newly wedded couples to make the virtues of love, forgiveness and compromise the bedrock of their marriage.

Diri gave the charge at the marriage ceremony of one of his aides, Binaebi Okpofabiri, and former Miss Janet October Lokpobiri, over the weekend at the Chief Diepreye Alameiyesegha Memorial Banquet Hall in Yenagoa.

Represented by his deputy, Dr. Peter Akpe, he stressed that the ability to manage differences was key to sustaining a successful conjugal relationship.

The governor noted that marriage brings together two individuals with different backgrounds and personalities, thereby making disagreements inevitable, and therefore maintained that couples must learn to accommodate each  other at all times.

His words: “No two saints are married because we are all human with individual differences. Surely there is bound to be some difference but it is your ability to manage these differences that matters. Cultivate the habit of tolerance and make forgiveness your watchword in your day-to-day living.”

Diri congratulated the couple and commended family members, friends and well-wishers for coming together to celebrate the union, noting that support should not only be shown when people were no more.

He also appreciated the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who served as the father of the day, for his contributions to Bayelsa State and Nigeria.

In his remarks, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) and Father of the Day, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri expressed joy over the union and congratulated the couple as they began their journey of love and companionship.

He prayed to God to bless the marriage with peace, joy, understanding, good health and lasting love, urging the couple to nurture their bond and shared dreams.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the occasion and Chief Executive Officer of De Wayles Group of Companies, Dr Victor Wayles Egukawhore, also congratulated the couple and advised them to cherish their marriage.

Binaebi Okpofabiri, an aide to Governor Diri, hails from Ogboloma Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state, while the bride, Janet October Lokpobiri, is a niece of Senator Lokpobiri

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor, Dr Peter Akpe, has again reminded politicians in the state not to allow politics to create division but rather be conscious of their common ancestry and brotherhood in whatever they do.

Dr Akpe stated this when he visited the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate running for the Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency seat at the National Assembly, Chief Selekebina Saboh, at his residence in Yenagoa, to identify with him on his 53rd birthday anniversary.

The Deputy Governor, who urged the political class not to forget that they were brothers before politics, congratulated Chief Saboh on his birthday anniversary and prayed to God to bless the celebrant.

Responding, Chief Saboh commended the leadership style of Dr Akpe while thanking him and his entourage for the visit.

From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

The Bayelsa State House of Assembly will take on members of the State Executive Council in a novelty football match as part of activities marking the 30th anniversary of the creation of Bayelsa State.

The friendly encounter will bring together serving and former members of the State Assembly and the State Executive Council who have served the state between 1996 and 2026.

The much-anticipated match is scheduled for Monday, September 28, 2026, at 4:00 pm at the Samson Siasia Stadium in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

The novelty match is expected to promote camaraderie, unity and stronger relationships between the legislative and executive arms of government, while providing an opportunity for former and serving public officials to reconnect through sports.

The two arms of government have, in the past, engaged in similar sporting contests as part of efforts to strengthen cordial relations, promote teamwork and foster a shared commitment to good governance.

The day’s activities will commence at 2:00 p.m. with an Ogele Procession from the Bayelsa State Government House to the Samson Siasia Stadium, where the anniversary sporting activities will take place.

At the stadium, sports legends from different generations are expected to participate in a lap around the pitch, followed by a symbolic torch-passing ceremony representing the connection between generations and the continuity of sporting excellence in the state.

Meanwhile, Bayelsa State and neighbouring Delta State will renew their sporting rivalry in a special wrestling contest, with elite wrestlers from both states expected to go head-to-head as part of the anniversary celebrations.

The Bayelsa State Government, through the Sports Sub-committee, has called on residents, sports enthusiasts and members of the public to turn out in large numbers at the Samson Siasia Stadium to celebrate the state’s 30th anniversary through sports, unity and friendship.