……..in Niger
The Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Bahago, has commended Niger government initiative of using At-Risk Children Project (ARC-P) of the federal government to empower out-of-school children and youths in the state.
He gave the commendation when he received a delegation from ARC-P led by Hajiya Maryam Uwais, the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment, in a courtesy visit at his palace in Minna on Thursday.
Umar said that the initiative would take children off the street and engage the youth in useful venture that would reduce restiveness among them.
He expressed concern that the state recently witnessed a new dimension where some young people took the street to create nuisance and restiveness, adding that the menace was curtailed with support from security agencies.
The emir, however, attributed youth restiveness, substance abused among youth to failure on the part of parents to bring up their wards to become responsible citizens in the society.
He expressed optimism with the ARC-P programme which would engaged youths and out-of-school children and pledged maximum support of the traditional leaders to the success of the programme.
Earlier, Uwais, said that the programme was designed to engage out-of-school children and youths across the state to become responsible citizens.
She solicited the support of the traditional rulers and communities towards the success of the programme, adding that the programme was to empower children and youths who had been marginalised to become productivity.
Uwais said that 30 youths residents in local government areas would be trained on skills such as basic literacy, numeracy, financial literacy methodology, agriculture and security which will in turn mentor out-of-school children on skills and empower them.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ARC-P is an initiative of the presidency designed to provide a multidimensional wide-ranging approach to the crisis of vulnerable children, including Almajirai, street children and youths at risk potentially
