Buhari Leadership has Accomplished in 16 Impactful youth Development Initiatives- Presidency

ASHAMU AUSTIN ADELANI, Abuja

The Presidency has boastfully reminded Nigerians that the Muhammadu
Buhari Administration has in six years accomplished in 16 Impactful Youth Development
initiatives, to drive home that the Nigerian Youth remains central to the regime’s
economic policies.

Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Femi Adeshina in a press release
titled “Lest we forget opportunities for young Nigerians by the Buhari Administration”
yesterday maintained the initiatives are “put in place for Nigerian youths, to reposition
and empower them”
.
According to the Presidential spokesman, Here is a the brief compendium of the
initiatives put in place, for Nigerian youths, to reposition and empower them by the
Buhari leadership are:
1. N-Power: 500,000 enrolled in 2 batches between 2016 and 2020 receiving 30,000
monthly, with enrolment of 3rd batch of 400,000 in progress.
2. NYSC Monthly Allowance increased from N19,600 to N33,000; more than 300,000
beneficiaries monthly.

3. 75 billion Naira Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF), for businesses owned by
   young Nigerians aged between 18 and
   35: https://www.cbn.gov.ng/Out/2020/CCD/NYIF%20implementation%20Framewor
   k%20final%20Sept_30_2020.pdf

4. Special Public Works Programme to provide 3-month employment to 774,000
young Nigerians across the country (1,000 beneficiaries per
LGA): https://specialpublicworks.gov.ng/site/

5. $20 million Fund for Nigerian Tech Innovators and Entrepreneurs, managed by
   BOI: https://www.boi.ng/
   6. National Young Farmers Scheme: An initiative of the National Agricultural Land
   Development Authority (NALDA) to engage 1.000 youths in each of the 774 local
   government areas in mechanized agriculture: https://www.nalda.ng/#FAQ
6. The Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS) by the CBN aims to
   engage a minimum of 370,000 youths in agricultural production across the country, over
   the next three years, in collaboration with State Governments. The goal is to facilitate
   increased private sector agricultural production of staple foods and industrial raw
   materials, as well as support food security, job creation and economic diversification.
   Prospective participants must provide evidence of capacity to engage youths as in-
   growers or out-growers to cultivate on the land after
   clearing. cbn.gov.ng/Out/2020/DFD/GUIDELINES%20FOR%20THE%20P-AADS.pdf
   8. Creative Industries Financing Initiative (CIFI): An initiative of the CBN in
   collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, to provide single-digit financing for the
   creative sector, as part of efforts to boost job creation in Nigeria. The initiative has four
   pillars, namely: i. Fashion ii. Information Technology iii. Movie iv.
   Music. https://www.cbn.gov.ng/out/2019/ccd/creative%20industry%20financing.pd
   f
   9. DEEL – D – Digital Skills E – Entrepreneurship E – Employability L –
   Leadership. Targeting more than 500,000 young Nigerians with opportunities for
   training and entrepreneurship and leadership: https://noya.ng/initiatives/new-
   deel.aspx
   10. NESP-Homes: The Mass Housing Strategy of the Nigeria Economic Sustainability
   Plan (NESP) envisages the creation of 1.8 million jobs starting with the construction of
   300,000 homes in the next 12 months, using 100% locally sourced materials for
   construction. https://nesp.ng/document/Jobs.pdf
7. The 5M Solar Connections Programme, to expand access to 25 million Nigerians
   by providing 5 million new connections through the provision of Solar Home Systems, or
   construction and operation of mini-grids. The Programme will incentivise the creation of
   250,000 new jobs – particularly for young people – in the energy
   sector. https://www.cbn.gov.ng/Out/2020/DFD/Solar%20Connections%20Facility%
   20Guidelines%201.0.pdf
8. The Energizing Education Programme (EEP) is an initiative of the Federal
   Government of Nigeria to provide clean power supply to 37 Federal Universities and 7

University Teaching Hospitals across Nigeria (independent power plant, street lighting,
development of a world class training centre on renewable energy for each university,
etc). Phase 1 has already commenced to deliver 28.5MW to 9 Federal Universities and
1 University Teaching Hospital, using solar hybrid and/or gas-fired captive power
plants. https://eep.rea.gov.ng/about-eep/
13. Presidential Youth Empowerment Scheme (P-YES), to address the needs of
unskilled and less educated youth, by targeting areas of activities that are of practical
importance and are essential to every aspect of our economy, including agriculture and
food processing, restaurant and catering, tailoring and fashion design, welding,
carpentry and joinery, etc.
14. Annual National MSME Awards: https://msmeclinics.com.ng/award-categories/
15. The National Survival Fund, designed to reduce the negative impact of COVID-19
on businesses, including but not limited to the following: Free business name
registration for 250,000 beneficiaries; One-off Payment of N30,000 to more than
300,000 artisans nationwide; and Payroll support of between N30,000 and N50,000 per
staff for between 3 (minimum) and 10 (maximum) staff of qualifying MSMEs, for 3
months. http://survivalfund.gov.ng/

16. 52% of loans disbursed by the FG-owned Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) in
    2019 were to youths and women-owned businesses. Since 2017, when the bank began
    operations, the DBN has disbursed more than N150 billion through the bank’s 27
    Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs), impacting close to 100,000
    MSMEs. Development Bank of Nigeria PLC.