Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Faruk on Thursday flagged off the training of 300 youths as mobile money agents for the South-South region in Calabar, the Cross River state capital.
Under this scheme, at least over 1,850 Nigerian youths would be trained as mobile money agents across the country.
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The ministry would train at least 300 youths from each of the six geopolitical zones of the federation country as mobile money agents to tackle poverty and unemployment.
The five-day training was conducted at the Venetian Arena, Murtala Muhammad Way, in Calabar.
The “Life Skills and Entrepreneurship Development Training” was anchored by the National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP) of the ministry, was facilitated by Rooted Consulting Limited, and Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF), a CBN initiative of accelerating financial inclusion in Nigeria.
The minister said since the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, the president has initiated so many policies and programmes targeted towards poverty alleviation, youths’ empowerment and wealth creation.
Represented by Mr. Emma Deekor, deputy director of finance and account of N-SIP, Hajiya Sadiya urged the participants to leverage this training opportunity by using the skills to improve their economic wellbeing.
Sadiya said the training is in line with President Buhari’s avowed commitment to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
Buhari, in his independence anniversary national broadcast, said he “remains confident that our goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years is achievable.”
He said “considering the positive impact of our Social Investment Programmes,” he approved an increase in the number of N-Power programme beneficiaries from 500,000 to one million.
The participants were selected from the six states of Rivers, Cross River, Delta, Bayelsa, Edo and Akwa Ibom, making up the South-South geopolitical zone.
The training, entitled “Life Skills and Entrepreneurship Development Training” for mobile money agents is anchored under the ministry’s National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP) initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to assist young Nigerians to acquire
and develop life-long skills for becoming change-makers in their communities and players in the domestic and global markets.
