Niger State governor Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has flagged off the distribution of empowerment tools and start-up packs to institutions, youths and women in the state.
The governor at the event which took place at the Government House, Minna, stressed the need to empower the youths and women in the society, saying that women are good managers.
He said when a woman is empowered, it produces a multiplier effect on the family and the society and turn around the economy.
The governor said, “We must do whatever we can to reduce the hardship of women. Women are good managers. If you invest in one woman, you are investing in over a 100. No matter how little you support, they make very good use of it.”
He also acknowledged the large number of unemployed youths compared to the availability of jobs, adding that the way forward is to provide entrepreneurship skills to make them self-reliant.
“We have to think out of the box to support people to become entrepreneurs, that is the only way to reduce unemployment,” he added.
He urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the items to become employers of labour and promised to provide more equipment to scale-up the number of beneficiaries before his tenure expires.
Earlier, the commissioner for youths and sports, Yusuf Suleiman, said the beneficiaries had gone through training on various skills and trades that would make them successful entrepreneurs.
Over 1,770 items were distributed including sewing machines, knitting machines, sets of tool boxes, pumping machines, filing machines and small electrical generator sets.