Nigeria’s federal government said on Sunday that its Social Investment Programmes, SIP, had a plan to hire 350,000 more unemployed graduates under the N-Power Volunteer Corps in 2017.
According to the Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, President Muhammadu Buhari has requested appropriation of N157.75 billion in the budget for the N-Power scheme.
He said that in addition to the 350,000 unemployed graduates to be hired and trained, 50,000 non-graduate youth would be engaged as artisans and in other creative ventures.
He said that from the allocation the administration had earmarked N4.5 billion for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, (STEM) programme to support young Nigerians in building skills in those disciplines.
Mr. Akande, who welcomed the great public enthusiasm the SIP programmes had so far generated, urged Nigerians to expect more this year especially in the area of implementation.
“While we were able to engage 200,000 unemployed graduates last year, we will do 350,000 more this year,” he assured.
Mr. Akande disclosed that about N75 billion was earmarked for the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme to provide one meal a day to five million primary school pupils. He said that in 2016 the feeding programme covered about one million pupils.
