Nigeria has entered a new phase of youth-focused innovation with the launch of the Nigeria Youth Academy (NiYA) Startup and the official flag-off of NiYA GIGS, unveiled on behalf of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu by the Chief of Staff, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila. The initiative has sparked widespread excitement as it introduces a transformative platform designed to harness the energy, creativity, and digital potential of Nigeria’s young population.
Delivering a goodwill message at the event, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, described NiYA GIGS as a decisive step toward unlocking the nation’s most valuable resource its human capital. He noted that Nigeria’s youth, vibrant and digitally inclined, remain central to inclusive and sustainable economic development.
Inuwa highlighted the alignment of the programme with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which placed digitalisation, innovation, and skills development at the core of economic diversification. He praised the resilience and ingenuity of young Nigerians, adding that a structured platform like NiYA GIGS will amplify these strengths and open new doors for progress in the digital economy.
The DG commended the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, for championing the initiative, stressed its long-term significance for a country where over 70 percent of the population is youth. Equipping young people with digital and creative skills, he said, will accelerate self-employment, community growth, and the rise of youth-led enterprises capable of contributing meaningfully to national development.
Reaffirming NITDA’s commitment to the Ministry and to the growth of the platform, Inuwa recalled the Agency’s involvement from inception and pledged continued collaboration to nurture a digitally empowered and economically productive generation of Nigerian youth.
