The LEADERSHIP Wealth, an entrepreneurship and vocational skills training organization, in partnership with the Sun Trust Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Presidential Committee on North East Initiative (PCNI) to extend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Youth Development Programme to the displaced people of the North East. At the MoU signing ceremony, which took place at the PCNI headquarters, Maitama, Abuja, the vice chairman of PCNI, Tijani Tumsah, who signed on behalf of PCNI said, “The targeted beneficiaries are generally people from the North East. Those that are interested in making their businesses more robust. On the part of the PNCI, we have our criteria that is so pertinent to the choices we make. We are going to ensure those that really require it, are those that will get it.” Tumsah emphasized that the programme is robust and all encompassing.

“This programme is all encompassing, there is the training part, and there is the funding part. There is no need in training someone and there is no capital to start off with. Also, speaking, the Head, Economic Hub, PCNI, Dr Danjuma Mahmud explained that the programme is a key intervention in an effort to cushion the effects of insurgency, which has displaced large population in the North East. “This programme is meant to key into the intervention project and process in the North East. When we got the proposal, we reviewed it, and evaluated the content and came up with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that is to be signed today.

“It is a training programme that will lead to getting resources, which is Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) funded. Other parts of the country have been benefiting from it but this one is a tailor-made programme, meant for the displaced people of the North East. “We had several meetings with the management of LEADERSHIP Wealth, including the chairman, we agreed on specifics, the entire MoU contains. In this process, the management of PCNI agreed to its credibility and implementation records. So that the displaced people of North East can benefit from the CBN Youth Development Entrepreneurship Programme.

“The PCNI is handling this programme on two fronts, the first, is to lean on the existing businesses. Secondly, the start-ups are key to the implementation of this programme.” While signing the MoU on behalf of the LEADERSHIP Wealth, the managing director, Michael Okpere said: “We have been reviewing the programme until it is coming to fruition. It has today culminated in the signing of the MoU. It is designed to deepen the activities of the PCNI. On our side, what we did was to do a review of the CBN YDP Programme, why such programmes failed before. We discovered that there is lack of synergy between the training institutions, the banks and the likes. So, when we approached the CBN, we decided that we must first of all put our house in order by tiding up the agreement between LEADERSHIP Wealth and the Sun Trust Bank about a year ago. We specifically took note of why other YDP programmes failed. “What we have done with PCNI is to do a different variant of YDP programme, but in line with the YDP guidelines. In line with the YDP programme, in line with the MoU, we have with the SunTrust Bank, to be able to deepen the PCNI initiative. “We also have a slightly different variant that we have developed with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC). We also have programmes, which is available to all and sundry. “We have another programme, we are developing with the Akwa Ibom and Kaduna state governments. These are the various variants, but all these variants have something in common. They are all planned, arranged, simulated to satisfy the YDP.”

Culled from theleadership.ng