Edo Government Partners YEIDEP On Multi Billion Naira Initiative To Transform Youth Empowerment.

The Edo State Government has recorded another milestone in its commitment to youth development as Governor Monday Okpebholo’s administration enters into a strategic, multi-billion-naira partnership with the Youth Economic and Intervention De-Radicalization Programme (YEIDEP), a flagship Federal Government initiative backed by international development partners.

The landmark agreement was reached during a high-level meeting in Benin City between the YEIDEP National Coordinator, Comrade Kennedy Iyere, and the Edo State Commissioner for Youth Affairs, Hon. Charity Amayaenvbo. Both parties concluded arrangements for the rollout of the YEIDEP Edo Multi-Billion Naira Youth Empowerment Programme, with the official unveiling date to be announced soon.

Comrade Iyere commended Governor Okpebholo’s visionary leadership, noting the administration’s visible achievements in youth empowerment, skills development, digital innovation, and inclusive governance. He remarked that Edo State was selected as a priority intervention hub due to the governor’s drive in job creation, community stability, and his youth-centered policy direction.

Providing further insight, Iyere explained that YEIDEP, established under the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, was designed to combat youth poverty, unemployment, and insecurity by equipping young Nigerians with the skills, resources, and support needed to build sustainable livelihoods.

The programme offers training, startup capital, business tools, and sector-specific capacity-building in agribusiness, technology, creative industries, recycling and waste management, and vocational enterprise development.

“These interventions,” he said, “are structured to promote self-reliance, reduce crime, strengthen community security, and create lasting pathways to economic prosperity for Nigerian youths.”

Responding on behalf of the state government, the Honourable Commissioner for Youth Affairs, Hon. Charity Amayaenvbo, expressed profound appreciation for YEIDEP’s confidence in Edo State.

He reaffirmed the government’s readiness to provide full institutional support for the successful rollout of the initiative. According to him, YEIDEP’s mission aligns seamlessly with Governor Okpebholo’s empowerment agenda, one focused on transforming Edo youths from potential to productivity, from aspiration to enterprise, and from participation to leadership.

He added that the Ministry of Youth Affairs will commence immediate mobilization of youth groups, community stakeholders, and partner institutions ahead of the programme’s launch.

The multi-billion-naira intervention is set to deliver far-reaching benefits, including startup grants, enterprise kits, agricultural tools, digital training pathways, de-radicalization support, and extensive job creation opportunities across multiple sectors of the state’s economy.

With this partnership, Edo State is poised for a new era of youth transformation, economic growth, and sustainable development.