The Ministry of Youth Development has revealed plans to collaborate with Katsina state government to create employment for Nigerian youths.
The Minister of Youth Development, Dr. Jamila Bio-Ibrahim made the revelation when she played host to the Governor of Katsina State, Mr. Dikko Umar- Radda who led some members of his cabinet on a courtesy visit to the Ministry in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
She disclosed the plan of her ministry to establish youth village project that will be built around commodities with comparative advantage in the agricultural value chain like cotton in Katsina state, North West Nigeria.
“There is no better State to engage young people in cotton farming like Katsina. We hope to work with you to develop that value chain.”
She noted that it is one sector that is capable of generating jobs.
She observed that the cotton from the north could be used to produce fabrics that can be supplied to other parts of the country like Aba market thereby increasing economic interdependence and fostering equitable relationships and brotherliness among Nigerians.
The Minister said the National Youth Bank will serve as a funding mechanism for the project that the Ministry wants to embark on when established.
She further said that the Ministry is in the process of mobilizing partners and resources for all these projects and considers Katsina state as a partner from the northwest geo-political zone.
In his address, the Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umar-Radda, disclosed that he was in the Ministry to seek area in which his state could partner with the youth ministry.
The Governor emphasized that the focus of every administration should be on the teeming youth in the country if there must be development.
He said, “For us to develop as a nation we need to develop the youth, we need to roll out plans, initiatives and programmes that will have a bearing on the Nigerian Youth.”
He stressed the need for government to ensure that the youths are fully engaged and equipped to drive the economic development of the country.
The Governor lamented the current situation where youths are idle and redundant, warning that it could serve as a fertile ground for recruitment of bandits and other criminals.
He said, ” I went round the 361 wards of my state during the electioneering campaign, I have seen the time bomb that is awaiting this country if nothing drastic is done about youth development.”
Earlier in his opening remarks, the new permanent secretary of the Ministry, Dr Umar Dunoma, welcomed the governor and expressed the readiness of the Ministry to collaborate with Katsina State.
Olusola Akintonde
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