The Federal Government has announced plans to employ 5,000 youths this year through the N-Power scheme of the Nigeria Social Investment Programme of the Federal Government.

Special Adviser to the President on Federal Government Social Investments, Mrs Mariam Uwais, made the disclosure in Benin City, Edo State, yesterday, while speaking at a stakeholders sensitisation workshop of the Social Investment Programme.

Mrs Uwais said: “We intend to employ 500,000 unemployed graduates in this first year. It is open to all unemployed Nigerian graduates between the ages of 18 and 35. "

"All you need to do is to go on to the portal that has been opened, and it closes on August 31, 2016.”

According to what Uwais said,  the portal is www.npower.gov.ng.

Meanwhile,  Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for initiating the programme for the benefit of the less privileged in the country.

Governor Oshiomhole appreciated the President, Mohammadu Buhari for appropriating funds specifically directed at feeding children of the poor in Public schools by way of one meal a day.

“Government has responsibility to identify those ones, the poorest of the poor, not to shed crocodile tears for them or with them, but to boldly appropriate public funds structured in a way that will deliver some relief to these categories of our country men and women.” He said.

 “For too long, everybody laments the growing numbers of unemployed youths, and in this democracy, the youths are the most active, they are the most vibrant; Everybody says the youths are the leaders of tomorrow, but we are unable to define when is tomorrow."

Oshiomole therefore stated his believe in the President to redifining the future today byeyound just rhetoric.

He emphasised that "Not only do we reject this unacceptable level of youth idleness, but government at the highest level has created a scheme that will enable some of these youths to be engaged, including being engaged in teaching, being encouraged to acquire skills, and to make them what they should be: part of our human resource which is the most important resource any country needs to grow on a sustainable basis.”


He continued, “For me, I am particularly excited with the school feeding programme. I am excited because given our shared commitment, and I think the world over that every child has a right, a constitutional right, in fact, inalienable right to go to school."

 What more can we do not to only to get the child to go to school, but to ensure that at least he is guaranteed a meal while at school so that he will be in a state of mind to be able to benefit from teaching and learning. “

"In Edo State, we recognize education as the foundation of any attempt to empower anyone. And that is why have devoted huge resources every year, first by rebuilding our schools and making them attractive to young children, trying to deal with inequality between urban and rural areas by ensuring that the qualities of schools in our cities are exactly the same standard you find in any village where we have rebuild schools."