President Bola Tinubu is building a healthy support system for young Nigerians, says youth minister Jemila Ibrahim.

The minister stated this in Abuja on Monday during a town hall meeting with youth delegates from states in the North-Central zone.

“The federal government is retooling our youth. The Federal Executive Council approved a 30 per cent youth quota in all the federal appointments.

“The federal government also approved the take-off of the National Youth Development Bank, as well as the inauguration and implementation of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund,” she said.

Ms Ibrahim said this important initiative marks a watershed moment in Nigeria’s economic development with youth innovative ideals at its core.

“Following my assumption of office as the Minister of Youth Development, we embarked on a robust restructuring of the existing NYIF Programme. Our effort was swiftly crowned by the approval of the FEC for the substantial expansion of the programme, increasing the NYIF budget from N75 billion as of 2022 to N110 billion for the 2024 fiscal year,” she stated.

The minister added, “This significant increase is an unprecedented commitment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, enabling millions of young entrepreneurs to turn their innovative ideas into thriving businesses capable of creating jobs and driving sustainable economic growth for all without any doubt.

“These youth enterprises will engineer the actualisation of the trillion-dollar economy ambition of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. The overwhelming response to the NYIF relaunch, with over 80,000 applications in the first 72 hours, reflects the eagerness and readiness of the industrious youth of our great nation to take advantage of this opportunity.

“As a matter of fact, it underscores the urgent need for such support to bolster the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerian youth.”

The minister said the NYIF would create focused financing and funding mechanisms for youth-enabled businesses and innovations to keep the youth gainfully engaged in productive ventures.