By Suleiman Yakubu

In a significant development, more than 6,000 young individuals from the six hydropower-producing states have successfully completed various skill acquisition programs. Among them, over 2,000 youths hail from Niger State.
The Hydro Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) spearheaded this initiative, aiming to combat redundancy and promote positive engagement within society.
During a stakeholder's meeting in Minna, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, the Managing Director of HYPPADEC (represented by Alhaji Muhammad Bala, Assistant Director of Finance and Administration), emphasized the importance of these training programs.
Notably, the commission collaborated with registered non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to conduct train-the-trainers seminars, ensuring effective knowledge transfer.
Additionally, stipends were provided to graduating trainees to ease transportation costs, particularly for those from riverine communities.
With over 80 percent of starter packs already available, the trainees are well-prepared for their respective fields, including upholstery, graphics design, P.O.P. ceilings, paintings, and fisheries.
The stakeholders involved include the state ministry of youth and sports development, the National Youth Council of Nigeria (Niger State chapter), and various commission directors and law enforcement agencies.

By Suleiman Yakubu

Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has said the broad and multi-level stakeholders town hall meeting organised by the government has resolved that the state and its people will not participate in any purported ten-day nationwide protest billed to begin next month. 
Governor Bago, while speaking to newsmen on Thursday at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre in Minna, the venue of the town hall meeting, explained that the government has taken drastic measures to address the concerns of the people and has extracted commitments from youths and students that protests will not happen in the state.
He disclosed that the state government, in its efforts to cushion the effects of rising food costs and hunger, will release 50,000 metric tonnes of assorted grains to be sold at half the current market price in all 25 local government areas of the state. 
He said committees would be set up in that regard, and he sought the cooperation of journalists and other stakeholders to monitor the exercise. He revealed further that the government has improved school feeding, will settle school fees, and will increase scholarships for all students in the state.
Governor Umaru Bago then announced a wage bonus of N20,000 for workers in both state and local government services, saying workers are to buy and pay the subsidised grains in three months. He said the grains were produced in the state during the dry season of farming and called on the people to key into his agricultural revolution to fight poverty.
He said a more rewarding programme would be organised to engage the youth rather than participate in the planned protest.
Representatives of other critical stakeholders, including security agencies, religious leaders, traditional rulers, organised labour, youths, civil society organisations, and inter-tribal organizations, among others, agreed in their separate submissions that protest is not the way to go and hence they will not participate in it.
They all commended the efforts of the governor aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the people and urged him to continue to do more, even as they assured him of their support for the success of his administration.