Self Reliance:Kano State Govt Targets 50,000 Youths
By Abdullahi Yusuf
Kano State Government says it is targeting 50,000 youths for training in various vocational skills to promote self-reliance among them.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf disclosed this at the graduation of 2,260 youths trained in various entrepreneurship and vocational institutes in the state, held at the Government House,Kano,on Sunday.
The ceremony which also featured the distribution of various starter-packs to the beneficiaries,is part of efforts of the State Government to boost youth empowerment and job creation in the state.
“My message to all our youth in the state is: This is your time; this is your year.We will continue to train and empower you so as to enable you start your own businesses towards self reliance,” Yusuf said.
The Governor described the graduation as a new beginning for the beneficiaries aimed at making them self-reliant and productive contributors to the economy of the state.
He said the revival of the 26 moribund entrepreneurship and vocational institutes demonstrated his administration’s commitment to improving the livelihoods of youths in the state.
He said the beneficiaries were trained in various fields including driving, informatics, livestock management, fisheries, film and creative arts, poultry production and development journalism.
Yusuf also stated that the programme was designed to equip the youths with “practical and marketable skills to reduce unemployment and poverty.”
He said that each beneficiary would also receive a cash grant of ₦50,000, while graduates of the driving institute would receive ₦100,000 each due to the capital-intensive nature of their trade.
He urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the empowerment initiative so as to achieve the objective of the programme.
In the education sector, the governor disclosed that his administration had cleared over ₦1.9 billion as unpaid tuition fees owed to higher institutions in Cyprus, which enabled the state’s students to graduate and collect their certificates.
He distributed the earned certificates to the graduands and announced automatic employment for them who studied medicine and engineering.