By Chesa Chesa
Vice President Kashim Shettima has formally launched the Office of the Vice President-Generation Unlimited (OVP-GenU) Secretariat to coordinate the implementation of activities of the programme across the country.
The GenU Nigeria initiative is a UNICEF-led Public-Private-Youth Partnership (PPYP) programme designed to connect 20 million Nigerian youths to education, skills, and livelihood opportunities by 2030.
Speaking during the launch of the secretariat on Tuesday in Abuja, the Vice President, represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, said the office would accelerate programme execution and deepen partnership across various agencies of government.
He explained that one of the benefits establishing the secretariat would be the proper alignment of skills to the demands of community, industry and society through a transparent process that will be accessible to all.
Earlier in his remarks, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, commended stakeholders for the launch of the initiative in Nigeria, stating that its framework aligns with the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme (RHWDP).
While pledging his ministry’s support for the GenU programme, Sen. Bagudu noted that the initiative will help accelerate the implementation of the Federal Government programme aimed at stimulating local economies by targeting 8,809 electoral wards across the country.
For her part, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Sa’idu Ahmad, applauded the commitment of development partners and other stakeholders for the introduction of the initiative in Nigeria, noting that the Vice President’s vision has given strategic direction to the assignment of the secretariat.
She said the Federal Ministry of Education will endorse the GenU programme as a technical guide, particularly the skills census, noting that its output will be integrated into the ministry’s planning for vocational and skills training.
In her remarks, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef, thanked the Federal Government for the endorsement of the programme, stating that the hosting of the secretariat in the Office of the Vice President was a demonstration of commitment by the Nigerian government in the wellbeing of the youths.
