One hundred youth selected from communities in Bida local government area of Niger state have been empowered to start the trade of solar energy installations under the sponsorship of the state Coordinator of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Usman Idris Makanta.
Addressing the beneficiaries at their graduation ceremony in Bida Thursday, Makanta said the motive of the empowerment programme is to reduce the level of poverty and idleness among the youth.
He said, “We didn’t budget for it but we will continue to improve on it as the training continues. For this graduation, 100 youths have been trained on solar installation and we are unfolding the second segment of the training which is for skills acquisition on computer training, tailoring and many others.”
According to him, the target is to empower 1000 youths in various skills to reduce the level of poverty and idleness among the youths to secure our society.
Makanta commended President Buhari for his focus on development of agriculture, adding that the President has identified that the bedrock of development of any nation is agriculture because without it the country cannot develop and grow.
He expressed appreciation to Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger state for allowing the storing of RIFAN input in all the warehouses in the state.