Ayodele Olalere
Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare, has said the Federal government has earmarked N25billion as empowerment fund for youths in the country.
The fund would help to bridge the unemployment gap in the country and further douse the tension caused by the EndSARS protests which recently swept across the country.
While on a solidarity visit to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, on Sunday, along other Ministers of South West origin to commiserate with the governor on the damages done to the state as well as deaths recorded caused by hoodlums who hijacked the EndSARS protest, the Minister said about 1.1 million youths had already applied for the Fund within 10days of the announcement by the federal government.
He added the N25 billion has been included in the 2021 budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate.
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“The Nigerian Youths Investment Fund was approved and established July 22, 2020, by Mr. President and the federal law and we have since gone to work.
“We set up a technical committee, we set up a focus group, where we had also the steering committee of all ministers. And we’ve done quite a lot of work.
“And that’s why exactly one week ago, we opened up the application portal, working with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“And as I speak, after about 10 days of applications, over 1.1 million Nigerian youths have applied for this fund.
“Of course, the fund, like we said, is an innovative fund to invest in the innovative ideas of our youths, their talents, their skills, and enterprise. And any user who qualifies can draw between N250,000 to 15 million naira.
“We expect that in the next one week or so, the first batch of 10 to 20,000 beneficiaries will be approved and announced and they will take three to five day online course on business management.
“We also have provided N25 billion in 2021 budget that is has already gone to the National Assembly.
“We hope that with this fund, and all other programs by this administration in the last five and a half years domiciled in several ministries, and about nine different agencies and departments, we are on course.
“Beyond that, there are so many other plans for the youths. Some of them are coming through this protest.
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“We are planning at the ministry to establish an interactive hub call center for our youths so that all our youths in this country can call in to find out about what plans, what programs, what initiatives, what projects, and they can also give us feedback of the issues that bother them and how best we can meet their aspirations.”
He enjoined youths to have faith in the President’s promise to fulfill all their demands.
“The government has since gone to work to meet their demands. Different levels of government and governance have been activated by Mr. President, to make sure that these demands are met.
“It is going to be a process. We need administrative processes. We need legislative processes. We need executive orders to be able to meet some of these demands.
“That is presently ongoing, the reforms will be deep and extensive. And the government has shown a commitment to these reforms.
“My message to the Nigerian youths today is that the government is already at the table. The Nigerian youths should come to the table. There’s a seat for them at the table of negotiation.
“It is time to move the protest from the street and move into action. And the action is to sit at the table and have a dialogue and conversation with the government,” Dare said.
