By FRANCA OFILI

The Federal Government says it will establish a youth bank to offer loans, grants and other financial products to support young entrepreneurs fostering innovation and job creation.

The Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, communicated this at a media parley on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to the minister, efforts are underway to have a Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan to address the problem of unemployment in the country.

“The establishment of a youth bank has numerous benefits for young people and communities.

“By supporting youth-led businesses, youth banks can contribute to employment generation and economic growth.”

He said that the bank would provide opportunities for education, training and employment.

Olawande said that the ministry also unveiled Youth Activities Dashboard where activities and initiatives would displayed.

“We are saying that everybody should go on this dashboard to get information.

“We have discovered that there are more than 7,000 activities of youths in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and others that do not reside in Ministry of Youth,” he said.

The minister sa’d the student loan scheme was a tool to fight poverty, adding that the loan scheme aligned with his administration’s commitment to inclusiveness.

He assured of sufficient funding to sustain the programme.

Olawande said that education was the greatest weapon against poverty in any society as it was essential for vision, development and successfully combating insecurity, including terrorism and banditry.

He advocated for an enabling environment for young people to thrive and achieve their goals in life.

According to him, the country has more than 60 per cent of young people; hence, much can be achieved with the enabling environment.

Olawande said that the ministry was making critical decisions and suggestions to President Bola Tinubu for implementation.

On the issue of corps members posting, he appealed to employers to accept corps members posted to their organisations for their mandatory one-year service.

According to him, there is a directive lifting the ban on the posting of corps members to private sector institutions.

“In Nov. 19, the Federal Government lifted the ban restricting the posting of corps members to the public sector, allowing for corps members to be posted to private sector organisations, including banks and oil and gas companies,” he said.

He said that government also mandated its parastatals to accept corps members posted to them. (NAN)