Creative Industry

FG Tasks Nigerian Youth on Agro-Allied Ventures

Published

5 years ago

March 6, 2022

By Joel Ajayi

The Federal Government has called on the teeming unemployed youth in the country to take advantage of the various youth initiatives and programmes of the present administration to empower themselves with Agro-allied skills, especially with the provision of start-up packs and other Agro-allied equipment given to them by the Government, to become self-employed and job creators.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare made the call weekend in Jos, the Plateau State Capital, during the closing ceremony of a two-week National Youth in Agriculture Empowerment Training Programme.

Represented by the Director, Enterprise Development and Promotion Department (EYD), Prince Momoh Olugbenga, the Minister said that the programme which was organized by his Ministry was designed to cover unemployed youth both male and female, within ages 15-29 from the 36 States of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

According to him, the training programme is not only aimed at fostering the creation of wealth through the acquisition of Agro-allied skills but also to reduce youth unemployment and restiveness as well as enhance their participation in profitable Agro-allied business with a view to boosting economic growth and development in line with the policy thrust of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

Dare stated further that Agriculture and Agro-allied business are one of the areas where jobs abound.

“A general survey has indicated and confirmed that Agriculture and Agro-allied business are one of the areas where jobs and employment opportunities abound and will continue to be relevant and as well play significant roles in the economy of this and other centuries,” he said.

To achieve the national goal of wealth creation and employment generation, therefore, the Minister said, “there is a need to build the capacity of our youth in areas where we have a comparative advantage in both material and human resources.”

He explained that tapping into the potentials of the youth could prove a crucial asset for the economic development of the country with the acquisition of relevant and marketable Agro-allied skills that meet the demands of the 21st century.

The Minister assured that government will continue to invest in the youth by equipping them with various Agro-allied skills such as Fish Processing and Value Addition, Garri Processing and Value Addition as well as Entrepreneurial skills including Financial Literacy Education, access to Micro Finance Facilities so as to enable them to start and manage their Agro-allied ventures.

He, therefore, called on the relevant stakeholders to harness the potential of the youth and mobilize their energies, talents, visions and creativity for the socio-economic development of the country.

Earlier in her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Plateau State Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mrs Helen Ishaya applauded the various youth initiatives and programmes embarked upon by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration with the view to empowering them for self-reliance, self-development and economic growth of the country.

She said that the empowerment will further reduce the excruciating pangs and pains of youth unemployment which is mainly responsible for the increasing social vices in the country.

The Permanent Secretary, therefore, called on the youth in the country to put to use all they learnt from the training for the betterment of their lives and also count themselves lucky to be among those chosen from the teeming Nigerian youth as beneficiaries of the programme.

Responding on behalf of the participants, Adedokun Omowumi thanked Youth and Sports minister Mr Dare and President Muhammadu Buhari in particular, for the privilege given to them to acquire the skills, noting that the training has been highly educative and impactful and as such, would not be taken for granted.

She assured that the Agro-allied skills acquired during the training would be adequately invested so as to bring about socio-economic growth and development of the country.

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Creative Industry

FG Backs MyCityApp Launch of 100-Day Tourism Calendar to Drive $100bn Economic Growth

Published

2 weeks ago

September 15, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Federal Government has thrown its weight behind the launch of MyCityApp, a Nigerian city discovery and tourism platform designed to aggregate festivals, concerts, cultural events and lifestyle experiences into a single digital calendar.

The platform, which flags off the 100-Day Tourism Calendar, was unveiled on Monday at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos, with the initiative targeting Nigeria’s estimated $100 billion tourism and creative economy opportunity.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Media and Publicity Adviser to the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the ministry said the conference was aimed at mobilising public and private stakeholders to transform the September-to-December festive period into jobs, investment and economic growth.

Speaking at the unveiling, the Minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said millions of visitors travel across Nigeria every year to celebrate, reconnect and experience the country’s diverse culture, stressing that the festive season could be deliberately organised and monetised to strengthen tourism’s contribution to the economy.

“This initiative is about moving beyond the traditional concept of a festive season. It is about deliberately organising, packaging, promoting, and monetising one of the most economically active periods in our national calendar,” Musawa said.

She noted that every visitor generates economic activity across several sectors, including aviation, transportation, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans and local communities.

The Minister commended MyCityApp Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ifeoma Chukwu, for her vision and commitment to the initiative.

She urged state governments, event organisers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses and other stakeholders to list their festivals, concerts, exhibitions, food experiences, cultural celebrations, fashion and sporting events on the national calendar.

Musawa said the platform would enable Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors to discover tourism and entertainment experiences across the country from a single, credible source.

Earlier, Chukwu said Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and creative sector provided enormous opportunities for tourism-driven economic growth.

She cited the contributions of tourism to the economies of countries such as Spain, France and the United States, arguing that Nigeria could equally build a $100 billion tourism economy.

Also present were Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke; NCAC Director-General, Obi Asika; National Gallery of Art Director-General, Ahmed Sodangi; ARCON Director-General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo; and MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr Karl Toriola.

MyLagosApp and MyCityApp will serve as the digital engines of the calendar, distributing events through a 360-degree media ecosystem to audiences in Nigeria and the diaspora.

Stakeholders were encouraged to upload their events on MyCityApp to participate in the national tourism calendar urging them to upload events on http://www.MyCityApp.io.

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