The federal government says it plans to lift five million young Nigerians out of poverty through its skills acquisition and empowerment programmes aimed at promoting sustainable livelihoods.

Implemented under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), the initiative aims to equip young Nigerians with practical, market-relevant skills to boost their economic independence and employability.

Abiola Arogundade, senior assistant to President Bola Tinubu on technical, vocational and entrepreneurship education and coordinator of the programme, disclosed this on Monday in Ibadan at the commencement of the programme’s Oyo state phase, which will run from September 28 to October 9.

She said the training is part of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to empowering Nigerians through technical, vocational and entrepreneurial education. Ms Arogundade said the programme, which began in Abuja, moved to Oyo state and would be extended to other states and geopolitical zones across the country.

Under the Oyo state phase, 200 young Nigerians are being trained in graphics and AI, makeup artistry and fashion design. Of the beneficiaries, 30 participants are undergoing training in Graphics/AI, while 85 each are receiving training in makeup artistry and fashion designing.

Ms Arogundade said the initiative went beyond skills acquisition, adding that beneficiaries would be connected to organisations and business opportunities to support their transition into sustainable livelihoods.

“So with this programme, we are training 200 people. We will also be distributing 500 tablets during the grand finale of the programme as part of the federal government’s digital empowerment drive. We are directly empowering 700 people in this programme, and there will be a multiplier effect. We are not just training them for themselves, but we are training them for their communities, for the population, and for all the states in Nigeria,” she said.

She urged participants to take the training seriously, maximise the opportunity and use their newly acquired skills to empower others within their communities, stating, “I want to just encourage them to do their best. I want to encourage them to know that President Bola Tinubu is thinking about all Nigerians, all young Nigerians in the country and ready to address their plights.”

The presidential aide reiterated the government’s commitment to creating opportunities for young Nigerians to become economically self-reliant through practical training and entrepreneurship development.

The keynote speaker for graphics and AI training, Oluronke Shonubi, said the growing adoption of artificial intelligence presented Nigeria with opportunities to accelerate development, improve employability and prepare young people for emerging jobs.

One beneficiary, Idowu Olalere, a 400-level student at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), thanked the government for giving young Nigerians opportunities to acquire emerging digital skills.