Minister inaugurates committee on implementation of N75bn youth fund

By Franca Ofili

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, on Tuesday inaugurated the Ministerial Technical Committee on the establishment of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF).

The minister said that the committee would facilitate the effective operationalisation and implementation of the N75 billion youth fund approved by the Federal Executive Council

He said that President Muhammadu Buhari on July 22, approved the establishment of the NYIF to the tune of N75 billion, for three years, dedicated to investing in the enterprise of the youth in the country.

“This is aimed at turning the youth into entrepreneurs, wealth creators and employers of labour.

“This approval underscores the absolute confidence this administration has in the innovation skills, talents and industry of the Nigerian youth.

“The fund is expected to serve as a youth bank that will fund and support innovative ideas, skills, talents and enterprise of the youth through loan credit pathways,” Dare said.

He said that members of the committee were drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), which had the knowledge of the task at hand.

Dare said that the conception of the fund was thus driven by the urgent need to accelerate the loan and finance processes for talented youth in the country.

He added that it would fund their ideas and enterprises directly with a view to ratcheting up the number of youth that were entrepreneurs and received financial loans from government.

Dare said the members are  Mr Gabriel Aduda, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry as chairman, Mrs Yewande Sidiku, Director-General, Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, and Mr Yusuf Yila, Director, Development Finance Central Bank of Nigeria.

Others are Mr Femi Adeagbo, Adviser on Innovation Development to the Minister, Mr Ismaeel Ahmeed, a presidential aide on social Investment, among others.

Dare said that the Provisional Terms of Reference (TOR) for the committee were to develop implementation strategies, roll out, develop road map and funding sustenance strategy and advise implementation structure of the programme among others. (NAN)