Abuja — The Federal Government on Monday flagged off a free nationwide training programme aimed at equipping 10 million Nigerians with financial inclusion, literacy and digital skills, as it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with six professional bodies.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who spoke at the flag-off ceremony held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said Nigeria could only maximise its demographic dividend if young people and women were empowered with relevant skills and ethical grounding needed for a rapidly evolving digital economy.
The training programme, being implemented by the Office of the Vice President through the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), chaired by the Vice President, is designed to provide Nigerians—particularly youths and women—with essential financial skills, investment knowledge and digital competencies for sustainable wealth creation.
As part of the initiative, the Office of the Vice President, through PreCEFI, signed an MoU with six professional bodies to jointly develop training programmes, certification pathways, digital skills initiatives and mentorship platforms to strengthen Nigeria’s financial and enterprise workforce.
The professional bodies include the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), Chartered Risk Management Institute (CRMI) and the Nigeria Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NIIE).
Speaking on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the event, Shettima described the MoU as more than a formal agreement, calling it a strategic national investment in human and institutional capacity.
“It is a strategic national investment in capacity as infrastructure—the human, institutional and ethical foundations upon which inclusive growth must rest,” he said.
The Vice President explained that the Aso Accord on Economic and Financial Inclusion, which PreCEFI is mandated to implement, recognises that financial inclusion goes beyond access to financial services.
“Financial inclusion is not achieved by access alone, but by competence, trust and capability. We cannot build a one-trillion-dollar economy on weak skills, fragmented standards or disconnected professional ecosystems,” he said.
According to him, the MoU establishes a framework for harnessing the collective expertise of the six professional bodies to advance inclusion through capacity building, advocacy, digital transformation, youth empowerment and support for small and medium-scale practitioners.
“This collaboration establishes a structured mechanism for joint training programmes, policy dialogue, digital skills development and professional standards that align market practice with national inclusion goals,” Shettima added.
He stressed that capacity building remained central to financial inclusion, noting that without skilled professionals across accounting, banking, risk management, credit administration and innovation, inclusion would remain a slogan rather than a system.
Emphasising the programme’s focus on women and youths, the Vice President said Nigeria’s demographic advantage would only translate into economic growth if young people were equipped with relevant skills for the digital age.
“Importantly, this collaboration prioritises women and youth inclusion and digital transformation, recognising that Nigeria’s demographic dividend will only materialise if young people are properly equipped,” he said.
Shettima urged PreCEFI and the partner institutions to treat the MoU as a living platform for execution rather than a ceremonial document.
“Accordingly, on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, I hereby flag off the free training of 10 million Nigerians, with priority for women and youths across the country,” he declared.
Earlier, the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Mallam Haruna Nma Yahaya, commended the Tinubu administration for its economic reforms, which he said had created the conditions for the financial inclusion training programme.
Yahaya said visible improvements in the economy had informed the decision to embark on the initiative and assured the Vice President of ICAN’s full professional support, describing participation in the programme as an institutional honour.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of WAWU Africa, the programme’s technical partner, Mr Emmanuel Lennox, pledged the organisation’s readiness to deliver on the project, particularly in providing the digital platform and enabling environment for its success.
Explaining the rationale behind the initiative, the Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, Dr Nurudeen Abubakar Zauro, said exclusion was driven not only by lack of access but also by limited skills and weak institutional capacity.
“Financial inclusion is not achieved by infrastructure alone; it is achieved when people and institutions are equipped to use that infrastructure responsibly, productively and sustainably,” he said.
The highlight of the event was the formal signing of the MoU between the Federal Government and the six professional bodies for the capacity-building programme.
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