Governor Sule To Empower 1000 Youths With Solar-Powered Kiosks

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has announced plans to empower 1,000 youths across the state with solar-powered digital business kiosks, under an expansion of the Sule Economic Empowerment and Development Scheme, SEEDS, backed by a pledge of ₦2.5 billion.

Governor Sule made this known while commissioning and distributing the first batch of 50 solar-powered digital business kiosks under the scheme at the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technical Institute, Lafia, on Wednesday.

The governor explained that the 50 beneficiaries currently trained and equipped were meant to serve as a pilot to test the viability of the initiative before the planned expansion to 1,000 youth across the state’s 13 local government areas.

He challenged the pioneer beneficiaries to treat the kiosks as serious business ventures and prove their commitment, promising that if the pilot succeeds within three to four months, his administration would release the ₦2.5 billion required to empower the additional 1,000 youths.

The governor disclosed that funding for the planned expansion was already available, noting that Nasarawa State had won $17 million under the World Bank-backed ACReSAL programme, which remains unspent and can readily be deployed to scale up SEEDS and similar youth empowerment initiatives.

He said the state was also positioned to benefit further, having recently emerged the sole state at a meeting with the President and Vice President on the National Working Technical Committee report on agriculture.

He described the initiative as a practical demonstration of his administration’s commitment to youth empowerment and ease of doing business, noting that each kiosk, valued at about ₦2.5 million, offers services including JAMB and WAEC result checks, DSTV and GOTv subscription payments, electricity bill payments, bank account opening, debit card issuance, flight ticket booking, hotel reservations, data and airtime top-ups, and solar-powered phone charging for multiple devices.

Governor Sule said beneficiaries were given more than ₦100,000 working capital to give them a stronger start, and urged the pioneer 50 to see themselves as trailblazers whose performance would determine whether the next 1,000 youth get the same opportunity.

He also used the occasion to caution youth against being misled by false political claims, stressing that no APC governorship primary result has been altered and urging young people to channel their energy into productive ventures rather than street protests driven by misinformation.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Kwanta Yakubu, said the Ministry developed SEEDS after identifying data-coordination gaps across previous youth empowerment programmes.

Hon. Kwanta disclosed that a broader Socio-Economic Empowerment Development Scheme strategic plan targeting unemployed graduates, artisans, vocational skill seekers, aspiring entrepreneurs, and rural youth and women was being finalised for implementation across the state between 2026 and 2030, in line with the Governor’s plan to empower the additional 1,000 youths.

The development partner, Pinnacle Hi-Tech, represented by Mr John Uzor, described the kiosks as solar-powered, one-stop business units equipped with point-of-sale terminals, phone-charging sockets, a solar-powered fan, and internet connectivity, adding that beneficiaries were trained on entrepreneurship and kiosk operation in partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN.

The Executive Director of the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technical Institute, Dr Ewuga Esele, who confirmed the kiosks were fully fabricated at the institute, welcomed the planned expansion, saying it would create sustainable employment for skilled youth and strengthen the state’s digital economy.

On his part, the ALGON Chairman, Hon. Safiyanu Isa Andaha, commended the Governor’s commitment to youth development and pledged the support of local government chairmen for the rollout of the expanded programme.

In a vote of thanks, Solomon Egye, spoke on behalf of the participants, pledging to put the empowerment to productive use and urging the governor to remember other youth still on the streets as the scheme grows.