A Socio-cultural Organization, Agwatashi Unity Forum, has kicked off a skills acquisition and empowerment Scheme for 250 unemployed graduates and widows in Nasarawa State.
A spokesperson for the group, Alhaji Saidu Adamu, made this known on Monday while addressing beneficiaries of the gesture in Agwatashi, Obi Local Government Area of the state.
According to Adamu, the gesture is in line with the association’s resolve to always assist the needy in the yuletide season.
Adamu said that the group decided to focus on programmes aimed at self reliance to empower the beneficiaries because some youth, especially in the rural areas, take to crimes and criminality due to frustration and idleness.
He called on youth, especially graduates, to desist from relying on white collar jobs, saying “you should be innovative as government alone cannot provide all the jobs for the growing population of the country.”
Adamu explained that the 250 beneficiaries who have been carefully selected for the scheme will be trained in detergent making, salon business, baking, tailoring and welding among others and will be provided with start up packs.
He revealed that over N150 million had been earmarked for the Programme.
Representing the state government, Mr Haruna Ogbole, Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, said the state government will continue to work closely with organizations whose objective are people centred.
In separate interviews, some beneficiaries applauded the initiative but urged governments at all levels to take proactive and decisive steps towards ending unemployment among the youth in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Agwatashi Unity Forum is a non-profitable organization that draws its membership mostly from working class Alago sons and daughters (an ethnic group in the state) with the aim of assisting the less privileged at the end of every year.
The group had in December 2019 embarked on a medical outreach, including surgeries for over 1,000 beneficiaries in Agwatashi and its surrounding communities. (NAN)
