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Federal Govt kicks off training for two million IT jobs in June
The Federal Government is set to offer six months of free training to youths to fill two million job vacancies.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also approved N120 billion to revive technical education.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, spoke during the third Ministerial Press Briefing, organised by Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris in Abuja.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, also gave an account of his stewardship.
Alausa said: “We have almost N120 billion and the President has approved it for us to move this agenda forward.
“This programme will be launched probably in the month of May.
“Today, based on UNESCO data, there are 650,000 vacancies in software development methodologies, about 280,000 vacancies in cyber security, and about 160,000 vacancies in IT automation.“
Another 150,000 vacancies in AI and machine learning, about 120,000 vacancies in cloud computing, and about 60,000 vacancies worldwide in national language processing.
“Add that together, we have almost two million job vacancies out there.
“So, what we’re doing with Digital Training Academy is working with trainers that will offer six- months of training to young engineers.
“We, as a government, will pay for their internet services, pay for their certification- Cisco certification, End of Career certification, and Google certification.”
Alausa said the strategy would give Nigerians new digital skills needed to stand out in the world.
He added that the training would be launched on or before June.
The minister said the Federal Ministry of Education was putting measures to encourage Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to meet the areas of needs.
He said this would be done through the Digital Training Academy (DTA) to give students skills in service industries.
Alausa reiterated the commitment of the government to return 10 million out-of-school children to the classrooms.
He said the ministry was working on a new strategy to increase access, improve quality and enhance education systems for foundational learning.
Alausa said between now and 2027, the government will reconstruct 195,000 classrooms across the nation.
“With regards to infrastructure, between now and 2027, we will need to raise 195,000 classrooms across the nation.
“We will install 28,000 toilets, and 22,900 boreholes across other schools in the country.
“We will construct about 7,000 new classrooms and provide learning and teaching materials by organising 103 million textbooks,” he said.
Alausa hinged the current proliferation of universities on the increasing pressure being mounted by lawmakers.
He said almost 200 bills were pending in the National Assembly for the creation of universities.
Alausa explained that renewing the capacities of existing institutions was more important than establishing new ones.
According to him, there is no need to put pressure on the president to establish new universities.
“We must focus on our capacities. We need to stop this from happening. There’s so much pressure on the president.
“We have to at least be sensitive to it as well. They (lawmakers) are passing a lot of bills.
“Today, there are almost 200 bills in the National Assembly. We can’t continue this.
“Even though we have a lot of them, the capacity for a university to admit is not there.
“What we need to do now is to rebuild the capacities so that we can offer more viable courses to our citizens,” he said.
The minister added that the enrollment rate was not commensurate with the recent number of universities.
“If you look at the entire enrollment together, the one per cent of private universities account for just 7.5 per cent of total undergraduate enrollment.
“The total number of undergraduate enrollment today is just about 875,000, which is at least fairly low.
“We have universities with less than 1,000 undergraduate students, and there’s this intense demand for more universities to be opened.
“We have to stop that,” he said.
He added that several key proposals had been put forward to address education sector challenges.
He added that the Tinubu Administration has committed N40 billion to the abandoned National Library of Nigeria project.
The minister said work on the library project would soon commence, adding that this would support academic and research needs.
Others who attended the briefing include Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Mr. Bayo Onanuga; Special Adviser on Public Communication and Orientation, Mr. Sunday Dare, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Publicity and Special Duties, Mr. Tunde Rahaman.
Heads of agencies in the Ministry of Information and National Orientation – News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Voice of Nigeria (VON), National Orientation Agency (NOA) and Federal Radio Cooperation of Nigeria (FRCN) – were also there.
News
Alleged Coup Plotters Plead Not Guilty
Consequently, they are remanded in the DSS custody following Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjournment of the matter till April 27 for commencement of trial and for bail hearing.
Six persons linked to an alleged plot to topple the government of President Bola Tinubu have pleaded not guilty to the charges in the case holding at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Consequently, they are remanded in the DSS custody following Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjournment of the matter till April 27 for commencement of trial and for bail hearing.
Retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (brought to the courtroom in a wheelchair), retired Naval Captain Erasmus Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani are accused of having conspired in 2025 to “levy war against the state” and overthrow the President.
The Attorney General, Lateef who instituted the lawsuit attended as the lead prosecutor in the matter.
The defendants face a 13-count charge which includes the allegation that they shared over N71 million for terrorism financing, failed to report prior knowledge of a treasonable plot by one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others, and neglected to prevent it.
Former Minister of State for Petroleum Timipre Sylva is named but remains at large.
Subsequent counts allege that the accused knew of an impending act of treason and terrorism by Colonel Ma’aji and others but failed to disclose it to the relevant authorities, in violation of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Abdulkadir Sani, a Zaria-based cleric, is accused of indirectly retaining N2,000,000 in a Jaiz Bank account, while Bukar Kashim Goni allegedly retained N50 million in his First Bank account. Zekeri Umoru faces charges of accepting N10 million in cash from Colonel Ma’aji and retaining nearly N8.8 million in a Zenith Bank account — all sums reasonably suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing.
After the defendants took their plea, the Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi prayed the court to remand the defendants in DSS custody.
He urged counsel to all six defendants to follow protocols, assuring that none of them would be barred from accessing their clients if they do so.
Fagbemi noted this after a number of the defendants’ clients said they had not been allowed access while they were on remand in custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency DIA.
News
LASG Fixes Last Saturdays Monthly Environmental Sanitation 6:30 am – 8:30 am
In a statement on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, confirmed that the exercise is set to resume on Saturday, April 25, 2026, with movement restrictions and enforcement measures in place.
• Tokunbo Wahab
The Lagos State government declared that environmental sanitation exercise will hold every last Saturday of the month between the hours of 6:30 am and 8:30 am.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, confirmed that the exercise is set to resume on Saturday, April 25, 2026, with movement restrictions and enforcement measures in place.
“During this period, there will be controlled movement across the state to allow residents to carry out thorough cleaning of their homes, surroundings and drainage frontages,” he’s said.
He stated that enforcement teams comprising officials of the ministry, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Kick Against Indiscipline, Lagos Waste Management Authority, and local government sanitation inspectors would “conduct physical inspections during and after the sanitation window to ensure compliance.
“Defaulters will be sanctioned in accordance with the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law of 2017,” he warned.
Wahab added that LAWMA intervention trucks will go around to cart away bagged wastes generated during the exercise,” noting that “there will be rewards for the cleanest Local Government Area, Local Council Development Area, and the cleanest street as part of efforts to encourage healthy competition and community participation.”
The alleged coup plotters in Nigeria’s foiled treason scheme will be arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik at the Federal High Court at noon This Wednesday.
The Attorney-General’s office confirmed the development moments ago.
On Monday, the federal government filed charges under FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026, signed by the Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, accusing retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Naval Captain Erasmus Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani of conspiring in 2025 to “levy war against the state” and overthrow the President—punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
The charges also allege they shared over N71 million for terrorism financing, failed to report prior knowledge of a treasonable plot by one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others, and neglected to prevent it. Former Minister of State for Petroleum Timipre Sylva is named but remains at large.
In Count One, the defendants are accused of conspiring with others sometime in 2025 in Abuja to levy war against the state in order to overthrow Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu — an offence punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
Subsequent counts allege that the accused knew of an impending act of treason and terrorism by Colonel Ma’aji and others but failed to disclose it to the relevant authorities, in violation of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Particularly damning are the money laundering and terrorism financing counts.
Abdulkadir Sani, a Zaria-based cleric, is accused of indirectly retaining N2,000,000 in a Jaiz Bank account, while Bukar Kashim Goni allegedly retained N50 million in his First Bank account.
Zekeri Umoru faces charges of accepting N10 million in cash from Colonel Ma’aji and retaining nearly N8.8 million in a Zenith Bank account — all sums reasonably suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing.
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