Federal government has launched the National Youth Data Bank, a central platform designed to provide reliable information on Nigerian youths and connect them with employment, skills training, business support and other opportunities.
Federal government has launched the National Youth Data Bank, a central platform designed to provide reliable information on Nigerian youths and connect them with employment, skills training, business support and other opportunities.
Comrade Ayodele Olawande, minister of Youth Development, who unveiled the initiative in Abuja, said accurate data on the youth population was essential for effective planning and ensure that government programmes reach those who need them most.
Comrade Olawande said information on Nigerian youths was scattered across different institutions and programmes, making it difficult for the government to get a clear picture of their skills, employment status, businesses, locations, and challenges.
He explained that the Data Bank would serve as a central and secure platform containing information on youths’ education, skills, employment status, businesses, needs and participation in national and community development.
According to him, the initiative was aimed not merely at collecting data but at transforming the information into opportunities by linking young people with relevant jobs, skills acquisition programmes, business support, digital initiatives and other interventions.
The minister said the platform would also help government determine whether its programmes were reaching the intended beneficiaries, stressing that effective planning was impossible without reliable information.
He said the initiative would particularly focus on youths in rural and informal communities who, over the years, had been difficult to reach through conventional government programmes.
Olawande urged Nigerian youths to register and provide accurate information, assuring them that the government would put measures in place to protect their personal data and ensure the information was properly managed.
Otunba Oluyinka Akerele, technical adviser to the project and chief executive officer of Pogma Nigeria Limited, said enumerators had been deployed across the country to register youths in both formal and informal sectors.
Akerele explained that registration points had been established in schools, polytechnics, universities and colleges of education, while additional cluster points would operate at wards and local government areas to capture youths in informal and rural communities.
He said stakeholders in all 774 local government areas had been engaged to facilitate the registration exercise, urging youths to participate so they could be identified and connected to relevant opportunities.
Akerele said the registration would cover young people between the ages of 15 and 35, in line with the Nigerian Youth Policy, while the database would be regularly updated to capture young people who subsequently attain the eligible age.
He added that the system would also accommodate youths who are currently below the eligible age through periodic updates, ensuring that they are captured when they become eligible.
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