Gov’t assures Abuja residents of improved access to entrepreneurial skills dev’t initiatives

In order to improve access to skills necessary for self reliance, the FCT Administration has pledged to support entrepreneurial skills development for all residents of the Territory, especially the teeming youth.
Giving this assurance, the Acting Head of Civil Service of the FCTA, Mrs. Grace Adayilo, noted that it is important for young Nigerians to be equipped with skills that would enable them compete in today’s global society where innovation and creativity drive the economy of any nation.
Adayilo, who was represented by the Director, Information and Communication, FCT, Muhammad Hazat Sule, spoke during the Grand Finale of the second batch of 2024 Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP), at the Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA) Office, Mabushi District, Abuja.
She opined that the effort of the FCT Administration is to create opportunities through development of socio-economic programmes, which are designed to foster an inclusive society and create an enabling environment for everyone to succeed.
She explained that the AEA was set up as an FCT vehicle for enterprise development, mandated to develop and implement programmes aimed at fostering job opportunities and engendering economic prosperity.
According to her, the YEP was conceived by the FCT Administration out of the desire and enthusiasm to encourage the culture of entrepreneurship and self-reliance amongst the National Youth Service Corps Members (NYSC) to build their entrepreneurial capacity and job creation.
She added that through the support of the FCT Administration, AEA has successfully trained 58 youths inclusive of graduates and serving Youth Corps members from various organizations at the Second Batch of 2024 YEP with several significant business orientations.
Earlier in his remarks, Secretary, Economic Planning Revenue Generation, and Puplic Private Partnership (EPRGP), Mr. Ubokutom Nya, represented by the Director Legal, in the EPRGP Secretariat, Mr. Harisu Umar, noted it is a revolutionary era where entrepreneurial skills must be properly embraced in order to improve the socio-economic lives of the residents of FCT.
Nya, who emphasized that any individual who fail to plan, has succeeded in planning to fail; commended AEA for showing the FCT residents, especially the younger ones the right path to follow by training them on entrepreneurship skills.
He added that the EPRGP Secretariat will always give its maximum support to the Agency and will continue to encourage programmes that are geared towards improving the economic prospects and well-being of the residents of the Territory, particularly the youth so as to obtain the entrepreneurial skills, which will in turn improve the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
On his part, the AEA Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Chudi Ugwuada-Ezirigwe, said the training by the Agency has enhance the youth with entrepreneurial knowledge and build in them, the capacity to initiate, develop and run a successful businesses; thereby, making them global future job creators.
Ugwuada-Ezirigwe, who enjoined the trainees, mainly Youth Corp members to put to use what they have learned from the training, said the YEP is a modern way of training youth; adding that there are no white collar jobs anywhere.
He revealed that YEP since its inception in 2020, has succeeded in training and equipping more than 2000 Corp Members, building them with capacity to become successful job creators and improve the living standard of the residents.
However, the grand finale of the empowerment programme witnessed the participation of eight young entrepreneurs with various innovations and creativity in business models competing for the prime position.

At the end of their presentations, Nnaemeka Afoma, a Covenant University Graduate, who innovated the business idea, ‘One Stop Wash’emerged as the winner of the most suitable and prospective, profitable business concept.

While the second and third positions were also won by various participants who went home with various sum of money donated by AEA and a promise for support by other federal government agencies as well as cooperate entities.