The Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, on Sunday in Ilorin launched a two-week skills acquisition empowerment programme for 1,000 women and youth in Kwara.

Mrs Buhari said that the programme was part of her pet project, `Future Assured Programme’ which was a social intervention aimed at ameliorating poverty among youths and women.

She said that series of social programmes initiated by the present administration were aimed at transforming the lives of youth and womenfolk in particular, who formed a great chunk of the unemployed in the country.
The president’s wife expressed concern over the myriad of social problems plaguing the country, which she said, had turned substantial part of active and agile youths to social miscreants.

According to her, the official launch, will, therefore, commence with the first batch of 1,000 unemployed youths and women selected from across the state.

She admonished the beneficiaries to be active participants in the exercise, adding that at the end of the programme, an examination would be conducted.
Mrs Buhari said that those that scored the approved mark of attendance and pass mark would be empowered with working tools and kits for various trades.

She listed the skill acquisition programmes to include tailoring, catering, soap making, computer training and electrical works.

The state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed said the government would not relent in ensuring that women and youths in the state were employed.
The Governor, who was represented by Commissioner for Information, Mahmud Ajeigbe, pledged to complement Federal Government efforts at making people self reliant and productive in the state.

Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth Empowerment, Zakariyau Babatunde, on his part, commended the president’s wife for her initiatives aimed at alleviating poverty.

He advised the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the empowerment skills, as it would go a long way in solving the problem of unemployment among youths and women in the state.