The Federal Government has announced plans to train 12,000 out-of-school children and equip them with skills for specific jobs.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, said the children would be trained and certified for specific jobs to enable them to contribute to the economy.
Doro said this when he hosted a delegation from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Nigeria, led by its Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Ms. Sylvia Ekra, in his Abuja office.
In a statement by the ministry’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Janet Noah, the minister said the programme would adopt special teaching methods because some of the children might have outgrown the conventional school teaching stage.
He said the programme is expected to cost $20 million, adding that four foundations had indicated interest in supporting the initiative.
Doro said the proposed training programme was part of the ministry’s efforts to reform the humanitarian sector, reduce poverty, and help vulnerable Nigerians achieve stability.
The minister said the ministry was working towards fulfilling its vision and mission in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which is geared towards lifting poor Nigerians out of poverty.
He also announced that the One Humanitarian One Poverty Reduction System (OHOPRS) programme was awaiting the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval.
According to him, OHOPRS is designed to connect humanitarian assistance and social protection from the beginning to the end, providing what he described as a poverty graduation pathway.
Doro explained that the system would coordinate interventions at the federal and subnational levels to promote greater synergy and achieve better results.
The minister said the ministry was working on 20 models to help identify vulnerable people and guide them through pathways to stability.
He urged fellow Nigerians in the diaspora to support the ministry’s efforts to lift vulnerable people out of poverty by liaising with the office.
Doro also advocated the establishment of a National Economic Trust Fund, expressing the hope that the Federal Government, development partners, and philanthropists would come together to finance the proposed fund for humanitarian purposes.
The minister hailed the IOM for its contributions to humanitarian services in Nigeria and congratulated the organisation on its achievements over the past 25 years.
He expressed hope that the next 25 years would be more fruitful and beneficial to humanity through continued partnership with the ministry.
Ekra attributed IOM’s progress in Nigeria to its friendly partnership with the government and people of Nigeria, particularly the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.
She expressed hope that the organisation would support the ministry in implementing the OHOPRS programme and support the proposed humanitarian trust fund.