Simon Lalong, Governor of Plateau State.

The Plateau Government has employed more than 17,000 youths in the N-power category of the Federal Government Social Investment Programme (SIP), its official has said.

Dr Sumaye Hamza, the State Focal Person of SIP in Plateau, disclosed this during the North Central flag off programme of ‘Public Awareness on Critical Government Policies and Programmes’, on Wednesday in Jos.

The event was organised by the National Orientation Agency(NOA), with the theme ‘Driving Change Through Public policies and Programmes’.

She said that the programme, which was flagged off by the President in 2016, was targeted at reducing unemployment among youths and boosting economic activities in the country.

”In the graduate category of N-power in Plateau, 11,054 youths were engaged as teachers in public schools and are paid N30,000 monthly. It means the Federal Government is spending about N330m monthly as their income.

”We have the skills acquisition scheme which has engaged more than 6,000 youths who were given start up packs and N10,000 monthly stipend during their training.

”They are now self reliant and have employed people in their businesses,” she said.

She added that more than 220,000 pupils, from grade one to three in public schools, had benefited from the Home Grown feeding programme in Plateau.

Sumaye said that the process of engaging beneficiaries was transparent, urging members of the public to monitor the activities of SIP and offer constructive criticism to enable it improve on its mandate.

Earlier in his remarks, Dr Garba Ari, the Director General (DG), of NOA, had said that the programme was to create awareness on government programmes and solicit public cooperation toward success.

The DG, who was represented by Dr Davidson Aminu, Director, Documentation and Publication, said that understanding the policies would ensure good participation and contribution to the success of the policies.

In his remarks, Mr Richard Tokma, Secretary of the Plateau government, said that creating awareness of government policies would reposition the country towards achieving greater heights and give Nigerians a sense of belonging in governance.

He lauded NOA for its significant role in bridging the gap between government and the governed, saying that the gesture would address misconceptions around government programmes. (