The Plateau State Government has proposed a N2bn supplementary budget to boost youth empowerment through skills training and entrepreneurship development programmes.
The Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Musa Ashoms, disclosed this on Monday at the flag-off of a new batch of trainees under the Plateau Youth Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition initiative, held at Lamingo community, Jos North LGA.
Ashoms said the funds would support youth-focused projects in agribusiness, ICT, and the creative sector, positioning Plateau as an innovation hub.
“As a ministry, we have requested the House of Assembly to approve N2bn for youth empowerment across different sectors. In agribusiness, for example, there is immense potential we want to tap. In ICT, we want Plateau State to become a hub. That is why the Governor has donated the Joseph Gomwalk House to serve as an ICT centre for our youths,” he said.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy had committed to laying 30km of fibre optic cables across the state, a development he said would cement Plateau’s place as an ICT hub.
Ashoms explained that 250 youths drawn from the 17 local government areas would benefit from the current training, which runs through September.
He said participants will receive instruction in ICT, fashion design, leatherwork, shoemaking, and bag production.
“At the end of the programme, young people will have gained skills that will enable wealth creation. It is deliberate and intentional because His Excellency, Caleb Mutfwang, places a lot of value on our youths and wealth creation,” he said.
The Zonal Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Deborah Pitmang, said the “Skills for Wealth” scheme was aimed at genuine empowerment.
“This programme is meant to give you start-up kits and empower you to create wealth, not to sell the equipment for quick cash,” she warned.
Some trainees praised the initiative, including ICT participant John Davou, who said,
“This is a very, very good initiative… With the ICT training, it will boost so many things and give us an eye-opener on how the ICT world works.”
