From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Vice President Kashim Shettima has unveiled the Office of the Vice President–Generation Unlimited (OVP-GenU) Secretariat, a dedicated hub set to turbocharge efforts to connect 20 million Nigerian youths to education, skills training, and livelihood opportunities by 2030.
According to a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, the GenU Nigeria initiative, spearheaded by UNICEF as a Public-Private-Youth Partnership (PPYP), aims to bridge critical gaps in youth development amid rising unemployment.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, the Vice President—represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Hadejia—stressed that the secretariat would streamline programme rollout, foster deeper government collaboration, and align skills with community, industry, and societal needs through transparent and inclusive processes.
“The secretariat will fast-track implementation and ensure accessibility for all,” Hadejia affirmed, highlighting its role in matching youth talents to real-world demands.
The launch drew commendations from key figures. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, linked the initiative to the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme (RHWDP), pledging his ministry’s backing to stimulate local economies across 8,809 electoral wards. “This aligns perfectly with our federal push for grassroots growth,” Bagudu said.
The Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, hailed the Vice President’s vision, announcing the Federal Ministry of Education’s endorsement of GenU as a technical blueprint—especially its skills census, which will feed into national vocational planning.
UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Wafaa Abdelatef, praised Nigeria’s leadership on the continent, noting the secretariat’s placement in the Vice President’s office as a bold commitment to youth wellbeing. “We’re excited by Nigeria’s momentum in job creation accelerators,” she said, vowing UNICEF’s technical expertise.
The Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs, Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, and the Secretariat Coordinator, Rimamskeb Nuhu, outlined the programme’s potential to reverse youth joblessness by leveraging federal platforms such as National MSME Clinics and Shared Hubs.
Nuhu called for urgent stakeholder buy-in, urging ministries to support the National Skills Census—to establish the National Skills Observatory (NSO) as the “single source of truth” for skills data—and to embed focal points in the secretariat for seamless coordination and sustainability.
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