President Muhammadu Buhari’s several initiatives targeted at jobs for the youths and alleviating poverty among women and vulnerable groups remain the best in the history of the country.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this in Kaduna at a meeting of the Northern Governors Forum with traditional rulers on the aftermath of the #EndSARS protest.
The meeting hosted by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna was attended by a federal government delegation led by the Chief of Staff to the president, Ibrahim Gambari.
Other members of the delegation were the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, and the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and some members of the National Assembly from the region were also in attendance.
In a presentation to the meeting, the minister who was a member of the federal government delegation said the Buhari government has remained committed to creating jobs for the teeming youth and alleviating poverty.
”No government in the history of this country has ever methodically and seriously put in place measures aimed at addressing poverty alleviation and creating jobs for youths like this administration,” he said.
The minister identified the N75 billion National Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) initiated by the government aimed at providing opportunities for the youth.
He said the Fund is part of the N2.3 trillion Economic Sustainability Plan to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on most vulnerable Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.
The minister said the Fund, approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on July 22, 2020, targets young people between ages 18-35 years and is expected to last for a period of three years (2020-2023).
President Buhari recently said that no fewer than one million Nigerians have applied for the N75 billion NYIF since the portal opened on October 12, 2020.
The minister also listed MSMEs Survival Fund as part of the administration’s initiative at jobs sustainability.
He said the Fund is a cluster of grants to support MSMEs to meet their payroll obligations and safeguard MSMEs jobs from the shock of COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights of the MSME Survival Fund, according to the minister included Payroll Support for businesses in health, education, hospitality and food production sectors targeted at 500,000 beneficiaries.
