By Seun Ibiyemi
The Federal Government has commenced the national expansion of its National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), targeting 1,200 Nigerian youths with practical and market-oriented skills across the country.
The initiative, being implemented through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (OSSAP-TVEE), is part of the Federal Government’s broader plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on TVEE, Dr Abiola Arogundade, said the programme was a key component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with a focus on equipping young Nigerians with skills for employment and entrepreneurship.
The NPRGS commenced its pilot cohort in Abuja on June 30, 2025, with an intensive 10-day training programme in cybersecurity and web development, alongside solar energy installation.
Arogundade described the pilot as successful, saying participants acquired practical skills, including website development and basic digital security knowledge.
The beneficiaries also received laptops and certificates after completing the training.
According to her, the Abuja phase attracted more than 7,000 applications, which she said demonstrated strong interest among young Nigerians in acquiring marketable skills.
Building on the Abuja pilot, the Federal Government is now expanding the programme across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Each zone will host 200 trainees for training lasting between 10 days and two weeks, bringing the number of beneficiaries in the initial national phase to 1,200.
The skills to be taught in each state will be determined by local market demand, relevance and the preferences of trainees.
In Oyo State, which represents the South-West zone, training is scheduled to begin on September 28, 2026, and will run daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for two weeks.
Participants will receive training in graphics and artificial intelligence design, makeup and fashion designing.
Enugu State, one of the designated training hubs in the South-East, will offer training in makeup, solar energy installation and fashion designing.
The solar training will cover panel installation, maintenance and off-grid energy solutions.
In Kebbi State, representing the North-West zone, beneficiaries will be trained in graphics and AI design, fashion designing and agriculture, with a focus on yoghurt production, dairy processing, packaging and small-scale agribusiness.
The Federal Government will provide participants with training kits corresponding to their areas of specialisation.
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Graphics and AI trainees will receive laptops, while makeup trainees will receive fully equipped makeup kits.
Fashion design beneficiaries will receive sewing machines and starter kits, while participants in agriculture and yoghurt production will receive fermentation kits.
The beneficiaries will be allowed to take the training kits home after completing the programme.
According to OSSAP-TVEE, the programme is designed to equip young Nigerians with practical skills, reduce unemployment and underemployment, promote entrepreneurship and self-reliance, and contribute to the government’s target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.
Arogundade also called on state governments, traditional rulers, community leaders and private-sector organisations to support the Federal Government as the programme expands to more states.
