Osinbajo Makes Big Promise, Says 20m Young Nigerians Will Benefit From FG, UNICEF Expanded Education Scheme
- The federal government has launched an expanded education programme for 20 million young Nigerians
- Vice president Yemi Osinbajo who launched the scheme on Monday, July 26, said the programme would offer expanded education, training and employment
- Osinbajo added that the programme has impacted more than 100 million young people globally through innovations and programmes
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FCT, Abuja - Vice president Yemi Osinbajo has said that Nigerian youth would benefit from an initiative between the President Buhari administration and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
This was made known in a statement issued by the senior special assistant to the president on the media and publicity office of the vice president, Laolu Akande, and seen by Legit.ng.
Source: Facebook
Osinbajo said the programme would offer expanded education, training and employment, targeting 20 million Nigerians from ages of 10-24 years, between now and 2030 and that it would positively impact the country’s future job growth enabling programmes.
He disclosed this Monday, July 26, in a pre-recorded message delivered at the official launch of the Generation Unlimited (GenU) programme in Nigeria, a global multi-sector partnership that was initially launched in September 2018, in collaboration with over 200 partners.
According to the vice president, the programme has impacted more than 100 million young people globally through innovations and programmes in more than 40 countries across six continents.
He said:
"In line with its job creation agenda, the federal government has over the past few months engaged multilateral agencies and the private sector in creating special opportunities for young Nigerians.
"Besides, the opportunities created through the ongoing Economic Sustainability Plan, only last month, the administration in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP and other private sector partners announced a 20,000 yearly graduate job fellowship called the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme, NJFP aimed at equipping young Nigerians with skills and experience required for the workplace."
Speaking on the GenU programme, the vice president said the programme is important because it promises to provide 20 million Nigerians with digital skills, link them to entrepreneurial and other job opportunities and assist them in realizing their full potential.
He added:
“Over the next couple of years, we will provide digital learning, employment, entrepreneurship and engagement for and with 20 million young Nigerians. This process is not only significant for our socio-economic development as a nation in the coming years but also provides a learning asset for developing future job growth enabling programmes.”
“Nigeria has one of the world's largest young populations. And it bears repeating that our country's youth are the nation's present and indeed its future. The cost of failing to invest in them is quite simply, unimaginable.
“So, we are excited to be a part of the ambitious goal of reaching young Nigerians with this opportunity. The work is massive, and we know we cannot achieve this objective without strong partnerships. And so, the Presidency, the relevant Ministries and State Governments will be collaborating with Generation Unlimited Nigeria, the private sector, the international community and our young people themselves to make this a reality.”
The vice president noted that GenU Nigeria would have three key components; digital skills development, the workforce readiness programme and youth engagement.
He noted that youth employment and especially the empowerment of female entrepreneurs is a major aspect of GenU Nigeria.
Osinbajo commended private sector partners such as Airtel, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Jobberman Nigeria, amongst others for their innovative work with young entrepreneurs throughout the country and for their commitment to GenU Nigeria.
He further stated that the introduction of GenU Nigeria is in collaboration with state governors including Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos state; Umar Ganduje, Kano state; Godwin Obaseki, Edo state, and also development partners such as Edward Kallon, UN Resident Coordinator.
Osinbajo stated that in Nigeria, the target is to reach 2 million young people aged 10-24years by 2023 and 20 million by 2030 with education, skills training, employment, entrepreneurship, and empowerment.
He stressed that GenU Nigeria would be implemented in 12 states distributed across the 6 geo-political zones in the country.
In the north-west, Kano and Kaduna states; south-west, Lagos and Ogun states; north-east, Borno and Bauchi states; south-east, Ebonyi and the Enugu states; north-central, Niger and the Benue states and from the south-south, Rivers and Cross River states.
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Buhari presidency, UNICEF to launch an expanded education programme for young Nigerians
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Osinbajo said would on Monday, July 26, launch the introduction of an intervention effort by the UNICEF to urgently support expanded education, training, and employment opportunities for young people, aged 10-24.
It was reported that the initiative is known as Generation Unlimited (GenU), a global multi-sector partnership that was initially launched in September 2018, in collaboration with over 200 partners.
Osinbajo said the scheme has reached more than 100 million young people globally through innovations and programmes in more than 40 countries across six continents.
Source: Legit.ng
