Presidency expands skills training drive to Oyo, targets 200 youths

The presidency has expanded its skills training and poverty reduction programme to Oyo state, targeting 200 youths in the South-west zone with practical training in graphics and artificial intelligence (AI) design, makeup and fashion designing.

The initiative, being implemented by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (OSSAP-TVEE), is part of the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), a Federal Government programme aimed at lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.

The Oyo training is scheduled to commence on September 28, 2026, and will run for two weeks, with participants expected to attend daily sessions from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In a statement issued Thursday in Abuja, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, Dr. Abiola Arogundade, said the programme was designed to equip Nigerian youths with practical and marketable skills capable of improving their economic opportunities.

Arogundade described the NPRGS as a key component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that Nigerian youths should be regarded as contributors to national development.

She said the expansion followed the successful pilot of the programme in Abuja, which was launched on June 30, 2025, with intensive training in cybersecurity, web development and solar energy installation.

According to her, the Abuja pilot attracted more than 7,000 applications, underscoring the demand among young Nigerians for opportunities to acquire employable and entrepreneurial skills.

Arogundade said participants in the pilot programme, many of whom initially had limited experience in the areas of training, were able to develop their first websites and acquire basic knowledge of digital security.

The beneficiaries also received laptops and certificates of completion at the end of the training.

Following the Abuja pilot, the Federal Government is now extending the NPRGS skills component across the six geopolitical zones, with 200 youths expected to benefit in each zone during the initial phase.

The training areas in the different states are being selected based on local market demand, relevance and the preferences of the participants, according to OSSAP-TVEE.

The initial nationwide expansion is expected to benefit 1,200 Nigerian youths.

In Oyo State, participants will receive training kits related to their areas of specialisation, which they will take home after completing the programme.
Graphics and AI trainees will receive laptops, while participants in makeup training will be provided with fully equipped makeup kits.

Those undergoing fashion designing will receive sewing machines and starter kits, while beneficiaries on the agriculture track, including yoghurt-making, will receive fermentation kits.

The Federal Government said the programme was aimed at reducing unemployment and underemployment by providing young Nigerians with practical skills that could support self-employment and income generation.

It is also expected to encourage entrepreneurship and self-reliance while contributing to the broader objective of reducing poverty through economic participation and skills development.

OSSAP-TVEE urged state governments, traditional rulers, community leaders and private-sector organisations to support the Federal Government’s efforts as the programme expands to additional states.

The office said stronger collaboration among government, communities and the private sector would help create an enabling environment for beneficiaries to deploy their newly acquired skills and participate more effectively in local economies.