FG TRAINS 150 ENUGU YOUTHS IN AI, SOLAR INSTALLATION AND FASHION DESIGN

The Federal Government has commenced a two-week intensive training program for 150 youths in Enugu State, equipping them with practical skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI), solar energy installation, and fashion design under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS).
​The phased nationwide initiative, spanning the six geopolitical zones, is designed to combat youth unemployment and poverty by providing participants with vocational expertise alongside starter packs to launch independent businesses.
​The program is coordinated by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (TVEE), in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
​Focus on Sustainable Empowerment
​Speaking at the flag-off in Enugu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on TVEE, Dr. Abiola Arogundade, noted that the project is a core component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. She emphasized that the South-East region plays a vital role in the administration’s inclusive empowerment drive.
​“Our expectation is that the beneficiaries will attend the training every day, learn as much as possible and gradually begin to lift themselves out of poverty,” Arogundade stated, adding that similar editions have already rolled out in the South-West and North-Central zones.
​To ensure long-term impact, the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning has instituted a monitoring and evaluation mechanism to track beneficiaries’ progress at six-month and one-year intervals.
​Shifting Away from Cash Transfers
​Mr. Felix Okonkwo, Director of the Macroeconomic Analysis Department at the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, explained that the government is intentionally pivoting away from token cash transfers toward sustainable economic independence through structured vocational and digital training.
​“Instead of giving people N5,000, N8,000 or N10,000 as cash transfers, we believe that equipping them with skills and supporting small-scale businesses will provide a more sustainable means of reducing poverty,” Okonkwo noted. He added that the 150 beneficiaries were selected transparently through open calls advertised via social media and radio platforms.
​Representing Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mr. Chris-Roberts Ozongwu, lauded the Federal Government for the intervention, stating that it seamlessly complements the state’s ongoing local drive for youth entrepreneurship and economic development.