Niger trains 500 youths on borehole repairs, bio-gas

The Niger State Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is training 500 youths in borehole repairs and briquette making.

Speaking at the flag-off of the training, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Ahmed Matane, said briquette is a bio-gas invention used as a substitute for charcoal for cooking.

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He said the training and engagement of the youths in this would reduce the illicit tree felling in the state.

He further explained that the training was timely as he had inaugurated a taskforce to check deforestation.

Matane appealed to the Ministry of Youth in the State to develop a comprehensive framework to train the teeming unemployed youths and engage them.

The SSG also said a more aggressive approach is necessary in the training of youths if the state was to achieve significant reduction in unemployment, create more jobs and wealth.

The Director General of the SDGs Office in the state, Alhaji Abdullahi Arah, said the office was partnering with the state’s youth ministry to create a roadmap that would provide alternative solutions to support the green economy while saving the environment.