Business
Foundation, Ministry Partner On Business For Corps Members
The TY Danjuma Foundation, an NGO, last Thursday in Abuja, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development on an agro-allied business initiative for youth corps members.
The Minister of Youth Development, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, signed on behalf of the ministry while the Executive Director of the foundation, Mrs Theoma Ekiyor, signed for the NGO.
According to the minister, each of the successful corps members will get between N2 million and N3 million, to start up an agro-allied business.
He said that government alone could not provide the needed opportunities, hence the need to partner with relevant stakeholders as part of efforts to provide jobs for the youth.
“As you all know, the biggest challenge facing most countries of the world today, is how to create opportunities and employment for young people;
“So we at the Ministry of Youth Development recognise this as the most important responsibilities that we have to continue to seek innovative strategies to create opportunities for young people, not only to gain employment but to also create employment opportunities and jobs for themselves and for others.
“Then we also know like we always emphasised that our ability to do this will depend very largely on our strength of partnership and collaboration.
“We are going to succeed to the extent that we are able to create opportunities for all to tap into other peoples experience, competence and expertise because as a ministry we don’t have the ability to create jobs ourselves.
“Then what we can do is to provide a platform, the energy and focus to solve some of these very difficult problems.”
Earlier, Mrs Ekiyor had declared that no private operator could entirely replace government in its effort to empower the people.
She said it was for that reason that partnership between the government and the private sector was necessary for the socio-economic development of the country.
She said the NYSC Agro business plan would go a long way to improve the lot of corps members by making them self-reliant after the service year.
Ekiyor said that the signing of the MoU marked the beginning of a constructive relationship that would attract other opportunities needed to empower the youth.
“The NYSC agro business grant scheme will be implemented under TY Danjuma Foundation, but we decided to start out with the pilot in 2012 and we have that desire and the success of the pilot and subsequently we will reach out across the country, even though it’s the pilot we have no desire to end it.
“This is the beginning of a constructive relationship that will go forward with the ministry as an institution, and we want to do it in different parts of Nigeria and we look forward to other collaborations that might be relevant for the foundation.”
The foundation will monitor the scheme to ensure that the grants are used judiciously.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.