The FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu has called on youths to come up with brilliant ideas that will enable them to access between N250,000 and N50 million of the N75 billion Nigerian Youth Investment Fund for sustainability.
Aliyu made the call on the maiden edition of the Nigeria National Youth Day celebration on Monday in Abuja.
The minister identified poverty and unemployment as prominent factors that drive youths to violent, extremism and crime.
She said that as part of measures to mitigate the ugly trends, the government in 2015 initiated programmes to ameliorate the vulnerabilities of youths in the country.
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“It is also of note that the federal government in its bid to show care, created N25 billion youth fund, in addition to the earlier N75 billion after the #EndSARS protest”,’’ she said.
Aliyu said that the FCT Administration has done its best to support federal government initiatives.
She noted that the administration has generated a couple of peculiar intervention programmes to assist young people, their families and communities on a sustainable routine basis.
” The FCTA through the Youth Development Department of the Social Development Secretariat has trained youths in various viable economic skills at the FCT Youth Support Centre, Nyanya.
“We are in active collaboration with the African Union to establish a youth outreach mini centre at the Social Development Secretariat.
“Young people can meet our social services expert to engage and discuss their problems for a positive solution,’’ the minister said.
In his address, Dr Kelvin Ike, Acting Secretary, Social Development Secretariat said no nation would witness any meaningful progress and development in an atmosphere of persistent restiveness due to neglect of the youths.
Ike however, stated that every step must be geared toward efforts to ensure a meaningful life for young people.
He added that it was in this light that the administration has put measures in place to support the youths in spite of the unfriendly economic challenges.