Unemployment: FG empowers over 500 youths on skill acquisition

In order to reduce the rate of unemployment and forestall non violence, peaceful co-existence among youths in the North-East of Nigeria, the Federal Government has embarked on empowering over 500 youths on skill acquisition.
The welcome initiative which is being handled by the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE) will also seize the opportunity to train them on rice re-bagging exercise.
Speaking on the exercise, the Program Development and Implementation Associate, Mr. Mohammed Danjuma, said it is designed to provide skills acquisition and empowerment opportunity for over 500 youths within the six states of the North east.
According to him, these youths will not only be empowered with new skills and equipment, they will also be temporarily employed for the duration of the re-bagging exercise, he said.
"PINE as a federal government agency would boost the component of the exercise and espousing the intrinsic benefits of empowering the youths with the requisite skills that would later enable them make a living for themselves".
Danjuma stressed that the initiative will help them become responsible citizens towards contributing to the stimulation of the local economy.
In addition, the Finance and Administrative Manager, Lintex International Limited, Ms. Panmwa Sim Bewaran during a chat in Lagos recently, said Lintex is partnering with PINE as consultant and contractor towards making the programme a success.
She said, the initiative binding both parties includes, bagging of 500,000 bags of rice in 6 North Eastern States on entrepreneurial skill training in sealing of the bags of rice. Continuing, she said, Taraba, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe and Maiduguri respectively would benefit from this project.
She further explained that the partnership will undertake and oversee the economic rejuvenation and redevelopment of the North-Eastern States of Nigeria. It would help to implement an emergency assistance and economic stabilisation programme in the mentioned states".
Bewaran also averred that Lintex as the sole consultant and contractor to the initiative, will oversee the project which is in line with the mandate and objectives of PINE, hoping that at the end of it all, over 500 youths would have been equipped with packing, sealing and loading machines to start up their own businesses.