The Federal Government has expanded the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy, NPRGS, to Oyo, Enugu and Kebbi States.
The programme is being implemented by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, OSSAP-TVEE.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, Dr. Abiola Arogundade, said the NPRGS is a flagship initiative of the Federal Government aimed at lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years through economic growth and targeted social protection.
Arogundade said the programme is a central pillar of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which is anchored on the belief that Nigerian youths are not the problem but the solution to the nation’s challenges.
Successful Pilot in Abuja
According to her, the NPRGS launched its pilot cohort in Abuja on June 30, 2025, with an intensive 10-day training in cybersecurity, web development and solar energy installation.
She described the Abuja phase as a resounding success, noting that participants who arrived sceptical left with practical, marketable skills. She said trainees built their first websites and gained fundamentals of digital security. Graduates received laptops and certificates of completion.
She added that the Abuja phase drew over 7,000 applications, showing strong public demand for the programme.
National Expansion to Three States
Building on the success of the Abuja pilot, Arogundade said the NPRGS is expanding across the six geopolitical zones, with each zone hosting 200 trainees in 10-day to two-week sessions. She said skills offered in each state were selected based on local market demand and trainee preferences.
She disclosed that 1,200 Nigerian youths will benefit from the current phase nationwide.
According to the schedule:
Oyo State (South West Zone): Training will begin on September 28, 2026, running daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for two weeks. Courses include Graphics/Artificial Intelligence, AI, Design; Makeup; and Fashion Designing.
Enugu State (South East Zone): Enugu, as one of six designated training hubs, will offer Makeup; Solar Energy Installation, covering panel installation, maintenance and off-grid solutions; and Fashion Designing.
Kebbi State (North West Zone): Training will cover Graphics/Artificial Intelligence, AI, Design; Fashion Design; and Agriculture, Yoghurt Making, covering dairy processing, packaging and small-scale agribusiness.
Arogundade said each participant will receive a complete training kit to take home after completion. This includes laptops for Graphics/AI trainees, fully equipped makeup kits for Makeup trainees, sewing machines and starter kits for Fashion Designing trainees, and fermentation kits for Agriculture, Yoghurt Making, trainees.
She listed the core objectives of the programme as equipping Nigerian youths with practical, marketable skills, reducing unemployment and underemployment, promoting entrepreneurship and self-reliance, and advancing the national goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.
OSSAP-TVEE called on state governments, traditional rulers, community leaders and the private sector to partner with the Federal Government as the programme expands to other states.
