By Mohammed Nur Tijani
Kano – The Kano State Government said it has spent the sum of N88 million on the empowerment of 4, 400 street hawkers in the state.
Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje disclosed this on Tuesday lat the official launching of the empowerment programme for 4,400 petty traders and flag-off of a two-day training for agric-business/small and medium enterprises investment scheme (AGSMEIS), at Sani Abacha Stadium.
According to him, the gesture was aimed at supporting the beneficiaries to improve their businesses.
”The programme is driven by the need to encourage our youths to be self-employed and to establish their own businesses.
“A total of 4,400 youths drawn from different trading points in the state will benefit from the empowerment and each of them will receive N20,000 cash.
“The government of Kano state has also been in partnership with the federal government agencies, such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BoI),.
“It is also in similar partnership with Industrial Training Fund (ITF), National Directorate of Employment (NDE), International Donor Agencies to empower thousands more youth on various skills acquisition programmes,” he said.
He said the state government is presently supporting 5,500 beneficiaries of Business-Based Training (BBT), drawn across the state with N20 million, as business plan fee, training fee and account opening.
Ganduje said that the empowerment programme introduced by the state government had reduced youth restiveness and other anti-social behaviours among others.
Earlier, the state commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Murtala Sule -Garo, said the programme was designed to empower unemployed youths in the state.
Sule-Garo said that the measure will go a long way in complementing the efforts of the Federal Government toward addressing unemployment challenges especially among youths in the country.
He commended the state government for adding value to the lives of the teeming number of unemployed youths in the state.
The Director General of National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Dr. Nasiru Argungu, said that NDE in collaboration with Kano state government would empower and train 40,000 unemployed persons in the state.
“We are gathered here today to launch the hitherto unskilled and unemployed persons into productive and meaningful life.
“These 40,000 men, women and youths will receive specially packaged training by the NDE in basic business rudiments to facilitate their access to the CBN-AGSMEIS facility,” he said.
“We are training 40,000 persons under the Central Bank of Nigeria Agri-business small and medium enterprises initiatives (AGSMEIS) as well as the disbursement of 500 cosmetology starter packs and a cash component of N5,000 to each trainee.
He said that NDE was proud to serve as an entrepreneurship development institution under the tripartite arrangement.
Argungu said that the agency had initiated talks with relevant private and public sector organisations as well as philanthropic individuals with a view to creating sustainable platforms.(NAN)
