IBADAN, Nigeria: Nigeria’s federal government has begun training 200 young people in Oyo State in digital and vocational skills, with the programme running from September 28 to October 9, 2026.
Abiola Arogundade, Nigeria’s senior special assistant to the president on technical, vocational and entrepreneurship education, announced the Oyo phase in Ibadan, the state capital in southwestern Nigeria, according to a statement issued by her office on September 28.
The training covers graphics and artificial intelligence, makeup artistry and fashion design. There are 30 participants in the graphics and artificial intelligence group, with 85 each studying makeup artistry and fashion design.
Okay News reports that the programme is being delivered under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy, which the statement described as a skills and entrepreneurship initiative intended to improve participants’ employment prospects.
Arogundade said the federal government planned to distribute 500 tablets during the closing ceremony. The devices are a planned part of the intervention, separate from the training currently under way.
“So with this programme, we are training 200 people. We will also be distributing 500 tablets during the grand finale of the programme as part of the Federal Government’s digital empowerment drive,” she said.
She said participants would also be connected with organisations and business opportunities to help them turn their training into income.
The Oyo phase follows an earlier programme in the Federal Capital Territory, the area that includes Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. Arogundade said the initiative would be extended to other states and regions.
The government’s wider ambition is to help 5 million young Nigerians move out of poverty through skills acquisition and related support, according to the statement. That figure represents a national target rather than the number enrolled in Oyo.
Oluronke Shonubi, the keynote speaker for the graphics and artificial intelligence training, said learning such skills could help young Nigerians prepare for emerging jobs. Arogundade urged trainees to use what they learnt to support others in their communities.
The statement said participants would receive laptops, sewing machines and makeup kits at the end of the training to help them establish businesses.
