A gubernatorial aspirant in the All Progressives Congress. APC, in Oyo State, Prof. Adeolu Akande, has set up seven centres across the state to register unemployed youths for the N-power programme of the Federal Government.
Akande, who made this disclosure yesterday at an interactive session with a group of youths from across the state, said the initiative by his Adeolu Akande Foundation was in furtherance of his commitment to the well being of youths in the state.
He said a cardinal programme of the Adeolu Akande Foundation was the empowerment of youths through employment, skill acquisition and enterpreneurship.
Akande, who is a former Chief of State to the governor of Oyo State, explained that the decision to set up registration centres across the state was because many youths in the state had difficulties registering for the Npower programme in the previous exercise.
He said it was saddening that over 250,000 youths were reported to have filled the digital forms for the initiative wrongly, making it impossible for them to be recruited into the programne.
Records show that over 15,000 youths of Oyo State origin were among those caught up in the anomaly.
“We decided to set up this programme to assist our youths to get their fair share of recruitement into the Npower programme. We want the youths of Oyo State to get their fair share of the programme,” he said.
Akande, who is a visiting professor of Political Science at the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State and announced that the registration centres which will commence registration of applicants on Monday, June 19, 2017 for the Npower programme are located in Ibadan, Oyo, Iseyin, Ogbomosho, Saki, Eruwa, Ighoho and Otu, his hometown.
He implored youths in the state to take advantage of the initiative to register for the Npower programme which ends on July 13.
Speaking on the Adeolu Akande Foundation, Akande noted that his concept of youth empowerment is not about giving fish to youths but about teaching them how to fish.”When you are taught how to fish, you feed yourself for life. However, when you are given fish in the form of kongo of rice or loaves of bread or cash, you are back in want of what to eat sooner than later”. He implored the youths to question politicians who are wont to give them fish instead of teaching them how to fish”.
He said the Adeolu Akande Foundation is involved in the training of youths for skill acquisision, enterpreneurship training and mentoring as well as support services in job placement.
The Federal Government opened the portal for its job intervention programme on Tuesday for degree,HND and National Certificate of Education holders to apply for temporary two year appointment with the Federal Government.
Successful applicants are to be paid N30,000 each month with oppurtunities for engagement in other employment and enterpreneurship programmes of the federal government.
