FG Targets 5 Million Nigerians for Poverty Exit Through Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship

Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.

The Federal Government has set an ambitious target of lifting five million young Nigerians out of poverty over the next four years through a sprawling skills acquisition and empowerment programme that has now expanded from the Federal Capital Territory to Oyo State and is scheduled to reach every geopolitical zone in the country. The initiative, implemented under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy, is designed to equip young Nigerians with practical, market-relevant skills that promote economic independence and improve employability, according to Dr Abiola Arogundade, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education.

Arogundade, who coordinates the programme, disclosed the plan on Monday, September 28, 2026, in Ibadan at the commencement of the Oyo State phase, which runs from September 28 to October 9. She said the training was part of President Bola Tinubu's commitment to empowering Nigerians through technical, vocational and entrepreneurial education. "What we want to do, and what the President wants to do, is to move as many people out of poverty as possible," she said. The programme began in the Federal Capital Territory and, according to Arogundade, would be extended to other states and geopolitical zones across the country. The Oyo State phase is training 200 young Nigerians in Graphics and Artificial Intelligence, makeup artistry and fashion designing. Of the beneficiaries, 30 participants are undergoing training in Graphics and AI, while 85 each are receiving training in makeup artistry and fashion designing.

Arogundade said the initiative went beyond skills acquisition, adding that beneficiaries would be connected to organisations and business opportunities to support their transition into sustainable livelihoods. "So with this programme, we are training 200 people," she said. "We will also be distributing 500 tablets during the grand finale of the programme as part of the Federal Government's digital empowerment drive. We are directly empowering 700 people in this programme and there will be a multiplier effect. We are not just training them for themselves but we are training them for their communities, for the population, and for all the states in Nigeria." She urged participants to take the training seriously, maximise the opportunity and use their newly acquired skills to empower others within their communities. "I want to just encourage them to do their best," she said. "I want to encourage them to know that President Bola Tinubu is thinking about all Nigerians, all young Nigerians in the country and ready to address their plights."

The Oyo intervention combines digital skills, vocational training and entrepreneurship, reflecting the Federal Government's strategy of using technical and vocational education as a pathway out of poverty. At the conclusion of the training, participants will receive laptops, sewing machines and fully equipped makeup kits to support their entrepreneurial pursuits. The keynote speaker for the Graphics and AI training, Mrs Oluronke Shonubi, stressed the growing importance of AI skills in the global economy. She noted that the increasing deployment of AI in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and automobiles in major economies underscored the need for Nigeria to equip its young population with relevant digital skills. She urged beneficiaries to apply the knowledge gained to their careers, build portfolios and explore opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment. She also called for sustained investment in AI training and public awareness, saying many Nigerians were still unfamiliar with the technology and its responsible applications.

One of the beneficiaries, Idowu Olalere, a 400-level student of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for providing young Nigerians with opportunities to acquire emerging digital skills. He said the training would help bridge the gap between existing skills and evolving labour market requirements and would enable him to improve his services and transition into the technology sector. Olalere said his ambition was to become a professional AI prompt engineer within five years and subsequently train and employ others. Two other beneficiaries, Mrs Iyabo Ajayi, a makeup trainee, and Fatunbi Joshua, a fashion designing trainee, also expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for the opportunity. They expressed optimism that the initiative would contribute to reducing unemployment by equipping participants with practical skills and opportunities for self-employment.

The programme forms part of the Federal Government's broader efforts to promote inclusive economic growth, reduce poverty and expand opportunities for young Nigerians through technical and vocational education. The NPRGS is designed to address the country's stubbornly high poverty rate, which the National Bureau of Statistics has estimated affects more than 133 million Nigerians. The strategy focuses on equipping young people with practical, market-relevant skills that can be translated into income-generating activities, rather than relying solely on white-collar employment in a labour market that cannot absorb the millions of graduates churned out by Nigerian universities every year.

However, the five million target is ambitious, and the road to achieving it will be long and fraught with challenges. The Oyo phase is training 200 people. The FCT phase reached a similar number. If each state phase trains 200 participants, and the programme reaches all 36 states and the FCT, that would amount to roughly 7,400 direct beneficiaries. Reaching five million would require a massive scaling-up of the initiative, far beyond the current state-by-state approach. Arogundade has acknowledged this implicitly by emphasising the "multiplier effect" of the programme, with participants expected to transfer their knowledge to others in their communities. But the effectiveness of that multiplier effect depends on the quality of the training, the commitment of the participants and the availability of follow-up support to help them establish sustainable businesses.

For the 200 young Nigerians currently undergoing training in Ibadan, the programme offers a tangible opportunity to acquire skills that could change the trajectory of their lives. Whether it represents the beginning of a genuine national skills revolution or a well-intentioned but limited intervention will depend on how effectively the Federal Government can scale the programme, sustain its funding and measure its impact. For now, Arogundade's message is one of hope and determination. "We are training them for their communities, for the population, and for all the states in Nigeria," she said. Whether that vision becomes reality remains to be seen.

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