From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, has said that a total of 546,449 youths have benefited from the N-Power initiative.
Farouq disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during the official flagging off of the N-Creative programme for the Northern zone with 1500 participants.
Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Bashir Alkali, she said, “A total of 544,949 N-Power beneficiaries both graduate and non- graduate have benefitted from the various components of the programme. With the addition of the N-Creative, the number of N-Power beneficiaries have increased to 546,449.”
According to her, “N-Creative is focused on equipping youths with relevant skills and certification to become competent workers, innovators and entrepreneurs prepared for both the domestic and global digital and creative industries.
“The training will enable beneficiaries learn the necessary animation skills sought in storytelling, illustration/ graphic design, post production, script writing and voice acting. At conclusion, the training will upskill 3,000 young Nigerians as developers of world – class animated content for local and global consumption.
“The N-Power programme is a critical part of the National Social Investment Programmes domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHADMSD) and designed to achieve the National objectives of poverty reduction and job creation.
“The N-Power programme is key to helping young Nigerians acquire and develop life-long skills that ensure they become solution providers and entrepreneurs in their communities.
“N-Power has three core segments: N-Power Volunteer Corps – the Graduate programme, N-Power Build – Non graduate programme and N-Power Knowledge – Which is a non-graduate programme and embodies the N-Tech Hardware, N-Tech Software and the N-Creative training programme.”
“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development is committed to ensuring that the strategic objectives of all the social intervention programs are achieved. Therefore, in order to maintain the highest level of attendance and discipline by our N-Power Creative trainees, training accommodation is compulsory.”
She added that, “during the camp training, each trainee is entitled to a feeding allowance of N900 per beneficiary per day. Each trainee is also entitled to Ten Thousand Naira (N10,000) monthly stipends for a period of one year.
“In addition, a laptop is provided as a training tool, procured to enable trainees maximize the skills learnt during their stay in the camp and to start off with their vocation.”
Meanwhile, the Programmme Coordinator, Insikak Okon, said the N-CREATIVE participants will be “trained by veterans in the movie industry such as Segu Arinze and others.
“Nigeria Film Commission (NFC), will continue to collaborate with the other MDAs, organized private sector and international development agencies in increasing the employability of our youths through skill acquisition and training.”
One of the participants, Love Elias, said she was very happy to have been given this opportunity to aquire skills that will make her an entrepreneur and employer of labour and not a job seeker anymore.
“I am very happy that I was considered for this training out of the millions that applied. I am enjoying the train and hope to become an entrepreneur, own my own job and train others for free because I got the training for free.”