The Secretary to the Niger State Government (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane has disclosed that the Niger State Youth Talent Hunt would empower unemployed youth in the State through the discovery of their natural talents.
Ahmed Matane made the disclosure while briefing Newsmen on the Niger State Youth Talent Hunt held at the Conference Hall of SSG’s Office.
The SSG revealed that the Youth Talent Hunt which is an initiative of the present administration through the office of the Coordinator, Youth Empowerment and Mobilization would also address the challenges of youth in the State.
He expressed optimism that the talent hunt competition will expose participants to the business side of their innate passion, talents and natural gifts to turn the endowed gifts into businesses so that they can become self-reliant.
Ahmed Matane stressed that the present administration led by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is convinced that youth empowerment will allow the beneficiaries to contribute to the socio-economic development of the State and governance.
Earlier in his remarks, the Coordinator, Youth Empowerment and Mobilization, Alhaji Umar Mohammed admonished youth in the State to believe in themselves, develop their talents and engage in productive activities that will enable them to become self-reliant.
The Coordinator explained that the programme is aimed at identifying talents, innate gifts and passion of youth to make them competitive in the global space.
Alhaji Mohammed disclosed that they will soon kick start sensitization programmes to all the local government areas in the state to identify talented youths in all fields of endeavours.
He told the SSG that the talent hunt which will take place within three months and will focus on five categories namely; ICT, Automobile, Football, Arts and Crafts as well as Poem and Recitation.
The overall winners in the respective categories will be selected by the panel of judges and rewarded, the Coordinator stated.
In his remarks via zoom, a United States-based Nigerian automotive designer and the Director-General of the Nigerian Automotive Design and Development Council, Jelani Aliyu commended the Niger State Government for the laudable initiative and urged the youth to participate actively.
