…As FG Pushes Youth Empowerment Through Skills Acquisition, Energy Transition Initiative
By| Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja
The National Youth Service Corps and the National Automotive Design and Development Council have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at equipping Corps Members with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) retrofitting skills as part of efforts to tackle unemployment and promote Nigeria’s energy transition agenda.
The collaboration was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja on the integration of CNG retrofitting training into the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme.
Speaking during the ceremony, the Director General of NYSC, Olakunle Nafiu, said the Scheme remains committed to expanding opportunities for Corps Members through practical and market-driven vocational training.
According to him, the NYSC currently facilitates in-camp SAED training for more than 300,000 Corps Members annually across the country, while over 1.5 million Corps Members have benefited from post-camp vocational trainings since the programme was introduced in 2012.
“For over five decades, the NYSC has been mobilising Nigerian graduates in support of national unity and development. In response to rising unemployment, we launched the SAED programme because service with skills leaves Corps Members better equipped,” he said.
General Nafiu explained that the partnership with NADDC would provide Corps Members with the technical expertise needed to become certified CNG practitioners, a field he described as critical to Nigeria’s future economic and energy needs.
“We recognized that we cannot achieve SAED’s full potential without the kind of technical partnership NADDC brings to the table today,” he added.
He assured stakeholders that NYSC would make its orientation camps and training centres available nationwide to ensure the success of the programme.
Also speaking, the Director General of NADDC, Joseph Osanipin, reaffirmed the council’s commitment to the initiative, describing the three-year MoU as a major investment in the future of Nigerian youths.
According to him, NADDC would deploy its technical expertise to design and implement a world-class CNG retrofitting curriculum capable of producing highly skilled and certified technicians.
“Through this partnership, NADDC will deploy its full technical capacity to deliver a CNG retrofitting curriculum of the highest professional standard that will produce Corps Members who are genuinely certified, practically competent, and enterprise-ready,” Osanipin stated.
He expressed confidence that the partnership would transform lives and create sustainable economic opportunities for young Nigerians.
The Special Assistant to the President on Youth Initiatives, Titilope Gbadamosi, said the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s drive to build a new generation of certified CNG technicians capable of supporting the nation’s clean energy transition.
She noted that beyond supporting government policy, the programme would equip Nigerian youths with relevant vocational skills that are highly demanded in today’s economy.
In his remarks, the Minister for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, disclosed that the partnership between NYSC and NADDC has the potential to create over 5,000 jobs for Nigerian youths.
He urged stakeholders across sectors to support skill development initiatives capable of closing unemployment gaps and empowering young people.
“The Nigerian youths must not be left behind. We cannot continue bringing people from other countries to fix our CNG systems while our youths remain unemployed,” the minister said.
Olawande commended NADDC for fully funding the programme for three years while NYSC provides its nationwide SAED platform for implementation.
He also encouraged Corps Members to maximize the opportunity by acquiring practical skills that would not only secure their future but also enable them to become job creators after their service year.
