Kebbi State Government has commenced the free registration exercise of Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) for youths across the 21 local government areas of the state.
The state Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Alhaji Gidado Kaliel, who inaugurated the exercise on Wednesday in Birnin Kebbi, urged the youths to come out en mass to utilize the opportunity for their progress.
He said,” I want to urge the youths in the state to make use of this opportunity and take the advantage of this scheme.
“It is for your benefit. I also want to urge those of you who are not youths but you have youths in your houses to please, tell them to come out for this registration.
“There is no cost for it, it is free. They can access money from N250,000 to N3 million. This is one of the initiatives of the Federal Government. It is being done by President Muhammed Buhari to help our youths.”
He said Gov. Atiku Bagudu, who was passionate about youth development, had given them the nod to go ahead with the free registration.
“The only purpose is to assist the youths across all the 21 local government areas,” the commissioner said.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Information and Culture, Alhaji Mahmud Warrah, explained that the initiatives would boost the businesses, talents and skills of the youths.
“This is so if the youth make use of the funds made available to them by the Federal Government. This scheme is designed to change the mindset of youths that they cannot survive without a government job.
“No! It is not like that. You can start a small business and in sha Allahu, a few years to come, you too can become an employer of labour,” he said.
According to him, the number of youths expected to be registered is unlimited.
The Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) is a government initiative created to boost the Nigerian economy through leverage and access to finance for youths.