FG Launches Free Training Programme for 10 Million Nigerians, Signs MoU with Key Professional Bodies
The Federal Government has formally entered into a partnership framework aimed at training no fewer than 10 million young Nigerians nationwide, PulseNets learnt on Monday.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, while unveiling the free nationwide capacity-building programme, said Nigeria stands to fully harness its demographic advantage only if youths and women are deliberately prioritised and equipped with entrepreneurial, financial, and digital skills.
Speaking at the programme’s inauguration organised by the Office of the Vice President through the Presidential Committee on Economic & Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), Shettima—who also chairs the initiative—explained that the intervention was structured to deliver financial literacy, investment intelligence, and digital competencies necessary for long-term wealth creation, PulseNets obtained.
PulseNets reported that the Office of the Vice President, acting through PreCEFI, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with six leading professional bodies to collaboratively develop training curricula, certification routes, digital skills programmes, and mentorship systems targeted at strengthening Nigeria’s financial and enterprise ecosystem.
The participating professional institutions are the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), Chartered Risk Management Institute (CRMI), and the Nigeria Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NIIE).
Addressing stakeholders, the Vice President emphasised that the MoU transcends ceremonial commitments, describing it as a foundational national investment.
“This is not just a formal agreement; it is a strategic national investment in capacity as infrastructure—the human, institutional, and ethical foundations upon which inclusive growth must be built,” Shettima said.
He added that the agreement provides a unified operational framework to leverage the collective expertise of the six professional bodies in advancing economic inclusion.
“The MoU creates a working structure to deploy the strengths of ICAN, CIBN, CIS, CRMI, NICA, and NIIE towards inclusion through capacity development, advocacy, digital transformation, youth empowerment, and support for small and medium practitioners,” he stated.
According to Shettima, the framework further institutionalises collaboration across training delivery, policy engagement, digital upskilling, and professional standards.
“It establishes an organised mechanism for joint programmes, policy dialogue, digital skills advancement, and professional benchmarks that align market practices with our national financial inclusion objectives,” he explained.
The Vice President also warned that inclusion cannot be achieved without specialised human capital across critical sectors.
“Without accountants who understand MSME formalisation, credit professionals who assess risk beyond collateral, bankers who prioritise consumer protection, risk managers who anticipate digital threats, and innovators who convert ideas into viable enterprises, inclusion remains a slogan rather than a functioning system,” Shettima told PulseNets.
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He concluded by officially launching the programme on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Accordingly, on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, I hereby flag off the free training of 10 million Nigerians, with special priority for women and youth across the federation,” the Vice President declared.
