National News
Nigeria Partners UNICEF To Train 20m Youth In Digital Skills By 2030

Nigeria Partners UNICEF To Train 20m Youth In Digital Skills By 2030
** As VP Shettima chairs Generation Unlimited board
By: Our Reporter
The Federal Government of Nigeria has renewed its strategic partnership with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to train and empower 20 million young Nigerians with digital skills by 2030.
This is just as Vice President Kashim Shettima has accepted to chair the board of Generation Unlimited Nigeria (GenU 9JA), a public-private-youth partnership platform constituted to help young Nigerians between the ages of 10 and 24 transition from learning to earning through digital connectivity.

Speaking during a meeting with the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall; UNICEF Deputy Representative, Dr. Rownak Khan, and Chief of the UNICEF Lagos Field Office, Celine Lafoucriere, at the President Villa, Abuja on Monday, Senator Shettima warned that Nigeria’s rapidly growing population, currently estimated at over 230 million with an average age of 17, presents both a challenge and an opportunity.
“It is an honour for me to serve as the Chairman of Generation Unlimited (GenU 9JA). This platform provides a vista of opportunities for our young people. Beyond rhetoric, if we want to survive and thrive, we must empower our youth through digital means. That’s the only way forward,” the Vice President said.
The GenU 9JA initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises inclusive development, digital innovation, and youth empowerment as tools for national transformation.
VP Shettima stressed that Nigeria is not seeking handouts but sustainable, equitable partnerships.
“We are not looking for charity. We want a mutually beneficial relationship—one based on respect and shared interests. This is why I’m very passionate about the digital initiative. Beyond leadership in our enlightened self-interest, if we want to live in this part of the world, we have to involve them, we have to empower them,” he said.
The VP described the initiative as a beautiful programme that would enable the Nigerian youths trade their skills in the global market, saying “from earning to learning is a beautiful initiative and more than any other platform, the digital space gives us the easiest window to get the youth engaged effortlessly.
“They can trade their skills in the global market. I know of a lot of young Nigerians who are working for global firms from the comfort of their homes,” he added.
Earlier, UN Resident Coordinator, Fall, praised Nigeria’s leadership under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting that the GenU platform is central to addressing youth unemployment, educational inequality, and digital exclusion.

“Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, youth-focused initiatives—skills, digital access, and employment—are critical. And GenU is helping to drive those priorities,” Fall said.
Also, UNICEF Deputy Representative, Dr. Khan, added that GenU 9JA is one of UNICEF’s most successful global youth empowerment programmes, with Nigeria showcased as a model.
“We’ve seen incredible results from Nigeria. Few countries globally have recorded the level of youth impact that GenU 9JA has achieved,” she said.
According to Khan, the programme is built on three pillars: digital connectivity, pathways from learning to earning, and youth engagement and empowerment—all designed to prepare Nigerian youth for today’s job market.
On her part, UNICEF Lagos Chief, Celine Lafoucriere, noted that since its launch in 2022, GenU 9JA has impacted over 10 million young people, with 1,500 job linkages already secured.
“To reach our target of 20 million youth by 2030, we must now strengthen coordination among partners and align even more closely with national policy,” Lafoucriere said.
End
National News
Chinese Embassy Mourns Buhari

Chinese Embassy Mourns Buhari
By: Michael Mike
The Chinese Embassy has mourned the passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Embassy in a message on X commiserate with the government and the people of Nigeria.
The message read: “The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria extends our deepest condolences to the people of Nigeria on the passing of His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), Former President of Nigeria.
“We mourn a resolute leader whose unwavering dedication to Nigeria’s unity and progress leaves an enduring legacy.
“His pivotal contributions to advancing China-Nigeria relations will forever remain etched in our shared history. Our thoughts are with his family and Nigerian people.”
Chinese Embassy Mourns Buhari
National News
NTAC DG Mourns Former President BuhariAdvocates the Naming of the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, after the Deceased

NTAC DG Mourns Former President Buhari
Advocates the Naming of the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, after the Deceased
By: Michael Mike
Director General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub has joined numerous individuals, groups and countries across the globe to mourn the passing of Nigeria ‘s former President, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (Retd) who passed away at 82.
In a message he personally signed and made available to the public, late Sunday, the former lawmaker said the entire nation was particularly saddened by the sudden passing of a man who gave his all to Nigeria as a soldier, a politician, a mentor to many as well as a nationalist.
Yakub, who emphasized that the former Nigerian leader, would forever live in the hearts and minds of generations of Nigerians who knew him and those who would, eventually, read about his incorruptibility and altruistic approach to service, conveyed heartfelt sympathies to President Tinubu, the former President’s immediate family and to all Nigerians.
Yakub message read in part: “On behalf of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) and its Management, I convey our heartfelt condolences to the family, government and good people of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“While we mourn this great soldier, nationalist and Leader, we remember his dedication to democracy, regional stability, and the unity of Nigeria, as well as his unwavering commitment to the anti-corruption crusade, which endeared him to many Nigerians.”
The NTAC boss while praying for the forgiveness of the sins of Buhari, suggested
that a great national monument, like the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, be named after the late leader.
He said: ” May Allah grant him Aljana firdausi and grant his family and entire Nigerians the fortitude to bear the loss.”
Born in Daura, Katsina State in 1942,the former President distinguished himself as a soldier,a politician and a national hero of all time.Having held the position of Nigerian leader twice, a Federal Commissioner of Petroleum,a Military Governor of what is today the Northeast Geopolitical Zone as well as the head of Abacha’s development behemoth,the Petroleum Trust Fund,among others, Buhari in service was acknowledged to have lived above board and held his head high as an incorruptible Nigerian.
He will be remembered more by the principles he espoused in leadership than the monuments he built for self, kith or kin.
NTAC DG Mourns Former President Buhari
Advocates the Naming of the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, after the Deceased
National News
Tuggar: Buhari was a Statesman of Uncommon Integrity

Tuggar: Buhari was a Statesman of Uncommon Integrity
By: Michael Mike
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar has described late President Muhammadu Buhari as a statesman of uncommon integrity, and a towering figure in our nation’s history.
The Minister gave this description in an official condolence message on Sunday.
The message read: “It is with profound sorrow and a deep sense of national loss that I mourn the passing of His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR — former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a statesman of uncommon integrity, and a towering figure in our nation’s history.
“President Buhari served Nigeria with unwavering dedication, both in uniform and in civilian leadership. His legacy is marked by a lifelong commitment to discipline, national unity, and the fight against corruption. His calm resolve in moments of turbulence and his steadfast belief in the promise of Nigeria will continue to inspire generations.
“At home and abroad, he was a symbol of Nigeria’s strength and dignity — a leader who carried the burdens of state with humility and a deep sense of duty.
“When President Muhammadu Buhari spoke at his inauguration in 2015, he said: ‘I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.’ He was sending a signal not just to Nigerians, but also to the region, to Africa and the world. He was not for sale, Nigeria was not for sale, Africa was not for sale. He was a soldier by training and a patriot by instinct – and a committed champion of democracy: he was instrumental in the peaceful resolution of Gambia’s electoral crisis in 2016, and an unprecedented transfer of power. He worked tirelessly to support regional efforts to roll back the scourge of violent extremism in the Sahel, just as in the 1980s he supported the liberation movements fighting for democracy in South Africa and Namibia.
“He was committed to the rules-based international order and worked to deepen ties between Nigeria and ECOWAS, the AU, UN and Commonwealth, and was a firm advocate of institutional reform. He had friends and allies in the four corners of the globe, but national interest always trumped sentiment: he bought fighter planes from the US, fertiliser from Russia and sealing the gas pipeline deal with Morocco. Nigeria has lost a dedicated patriot; Africa has lost a noble son. We salute you.
“On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigeria’s diplomatic community, I extend heartfelt condolences to his family, the Government and People of Nigeria, and all who mourn this irreparable loss.
“May Almighty Allah (SWT) forgive his shortcomings and grant him eternal rest in Aljannatul Firdaus.”
Tuggar: Buhari was a Statesman of Uncommon Integrity
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