We will not scrap YouWIN – Nigerian government

The Nigerian government, Wednesday, said it would not scrap the Youth With Innovation Entrepreneurship, YouWIN! Connect, programme.

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, who stated this in a Facebook LIVE interactive session, noted that the scheme would be reviewed in line with the economic agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

There have been reports of fraud in the management of the schemes, with top government functionaries alleged to have facilitated slots to their cronies.

The Federal Government launched an investigation into the allegation, leading to speculations of possible outright scrap of the programme by the government.

But speaking during the Facebook LIVE session on Wednesday, Ms. Adeosun said the scheme was being reviewed, adding that the exercise would enable the government to incorporate the initiative into
university curricula across Nigeria.

“The Buhari administration has no plans to scrap it (YouWIN!Connect),” she said.

“The Federal Government has reviewed the scheme and repositioned it as the YouWiN!Connect, which focuses on continuous enterprise education and skills building.

“As part of the restructuring, the YouWiN!Connect now publishes weekly editorials in four national newspapers. The principles of the YouWiN! Connect will be incorporated into university curricula across Nigeria.”

Commenting further, Ms. Adeosun stated that the finance ministry had been supporting small businesses, creating jobs, improving transparency, cutting the cost of governance, and boosting government revenues.

The minister said the current administration was putting in place measures to ensure that the economy would be diversified in a manner that any fluctuation in oil prices would not have significant impact
on government revenue.

“The good news is that we are working through the issues one by one, and trying to ensure that as we rebuild the economy, we get away from the boom and bust cycle of the past; we want to build an economy where, whether oil price is high or low, there’s sustainable growth for Nigeria and for Nigerians,” she said.

 

Source: Premium Times