The Federal Government has begun to roll out its National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy across the country, as trained young people in Oyo State received laptops, make-up kits, sewing machines, and digital tablets at the Kensington Adebutu Hall, University of Ibadan, on Friday.
The training aims to help about five million Nigerians out of poverty over the next four years.
In Oyo State, 700 young people have reportedly finished training under the plan.
What the Oyo phase gave the youths
The training ran from 28 September to October 9, 2026. The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education ran it. Vocational skills are hands-on trade skills.
Participants got skills, digital devices and business starter kits. The government says the programme is meant to cut unemployment, close the skills gap and help beneficiaries start businesses. It also wants them to take part in the digital economy.
The Senior Special Assistant, Dr Abiola Arogundade, gave the numbers at the ceremony. Thirty participants studied artificial intelligence (AI) and graphics design. AI is technology that lets computers do tasks usually done by people.
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Eighty-five trained in make-up artistry and another 85 in fashion design. She said a further 500 participants will receive digital devices.
Graduates took home laptops, make-up kits, sewing machines or digital tablets. What each person got depended on the course and the support provided.
Arogundade said President Bola Tinubu wants to fight poverty by creating chances for people to earn their own living. She said direct help alone is not the approach.
“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.
She said young people need more than help. “Mr President believes that our young people do not simply need assistance. They need opportunity. They need skills. They need the tools to compete and build sustainable livelihoods. And that is what today represents,” she said.
Messages to the graduates
Arogundade told the graduates to pass on what they learnt. “What you receive today (Friday) is not the destination. It is the beginning. Take the skills you have learnt. Take the tools you have received, and build something with them,” she said.
She also said: “Don’t use it as a one-man solution or one-man empowerment. There’s a multiplier effect. Train your neighbours, train your community people, and also continue to impact and learn more.”
The keynote speaker, Mrs Oluronke Shonubi, a Principal Consultant, spoke on AI. She said training young Nigerians in the technology matters because major economies are bringing it into different sectors.
“Countries such as the United States and China are investing heavily in AI across sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, and the automobile industry,” she said.
The make-up artistry instructor, Rukayat Muhammad, said the skill can give graduates money of their own if they build it up and promote themselves.
“Make-up artistry remains a marketable vocation, and beneficiaries can build successful businesses if they develop their skills and effectively market themselves,” she said.
She told trainees to treat the equipment as an investment in their future.
The All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Sharafadeen Alli, also spoke to the graduates. He said programmes that give young people practical skills and tools help to cut unemployment and poverty.
He said the benefits would be greater if the graduates turned their training into working businesses.
“I urge all the beneficiaries to make the best use of this opportunity. The training and equipment provided are not just gifts; they are tools to build sustainable businesses, achieve financial independence and create employment for others,” Alli said.
WHAT READERS SHOULD KNOW
The national plan covers four years and aims to reach about five million Nigerians.
The Oyo course ran for about two weeks, from 28 September to 9 October, 2026.
Places were 30 for AI and graphics design, 85 for make-up artistry and 85 for fashion design. Another 500 participants will receive digital devices.
The equipment given out includes laptops, make-up kits, sewing machines and digital tablets.
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