FG to distribute 400,000 digital devices to Nigerians under NDSTEP

The federal government has announced plans to distribute 400,000 digital devices to young Nigerians, students, artisans, entrepreneurs and other vulnerable groups under a new national empowerment programme.

The initiative, known as the National Digital Skills and Technical Empowerment Programme (NDSTEP), is being implemented by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (OSSAP-TVEE), in collaboration with the National Population Commission (NPC).

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on TVEE, Dr Abiola Arogundade, disclosed this on Thursday at a NDSTEP Social Media Information and Empowerment Meeting in Abuja.

Arogundade said the programme was part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and was designed to expand access to digital tools while supporting the Federal Government’s drive for a national skills revolution.

She said digital devices had become essential tools for education, employment and entrepreneurship, particularly for Nigerians seeking to participate in the growing digital economy.

“A phone or a laptop is no longer a luxury. It is the tool through which a tailor finds new customers and a trainee turns a certificate into a job,” she said.

According to her, many Nigerians already possess the skills and determination to improve their livelihoods but are held back by inadequate access to smartphones, laptops and other digital tools.

She said NDSTEP was designed to address the gap by putting devices directly in the hands of Nigerians who require them to acquire skills, find work, develop businesses and access wider markets.