The federal government has announced that the recruitment for Batch B beneficiaries of the Youth Economic Intervention and De-Radicalisation Programme (YEIDEP) will commence nationwide on Monday, March 9.
This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by the Coordinator-General of the programme, Kennedy Iyere, calling on eligible Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 50 to participate in the exercise.
The recruitment will be conducted across the country except in Kano State, where the process will be overseen by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf through a newly established Kano State YEIDEP Steering Committee, authorised to manage the recruitment of beneficiaries within the state.
Unlike the Batch A recruitment phase, which relied on an online registration portal for data capture and bank account processing, Batch B applicants are required to visit designated partner banks physically to open a YEIDEP bank account as part of the registration process.
The organisers emphasised that opening the YEIDEP bank account remains the only valid means of becoming a recognised participant and potential beneficiary, stressing that the registration process is free of charge. Applicants were advised to report any request for payment by bank officials or intermediaries.
The statement further clarified that individuals who successfully registered under Batch A and already possess confirmed YEIDEP bank accounts are not eligible for the new recruitment phase. However, those who registered during Batch A but did not receive confirmed accounts are encouraged to participate in Batch B.
Participants are also warned against multiple registrations, with a note that anyone found engaging in duplicate applications will be automatically disqualified.
Authorised banks for the exercise include Fidelity Bank, Keystone Bank, Alpha Morgan Bank, Wema Bank, Union Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa, Ecobank and Lotus Bank.
YEIDEP is a national youth economic inclusion and engagement initiative coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development in collaboration with the Youths Off The Street Initiative and supported by development partners.
The programme seeks to address youth unemployment, poverty and vulnerability to radicalisation by promoting entrepreneurship and self-employment opportunities among young Nigerians.
YEIDEP aims to empower up to 20 million youths with start-up capital and support mechanisms designed to stimulate economic participation and reduce social and security risks associated with youth unemployment.
According to Iyere, “We also strictly want to warn against double or multiple registration, as anyone found guilty of such shall be disqualified automatically.
“YEIDEP aims to empower 20 million youths with startup capital as a way of promoting entrepreneurship and self-employment among young people, which is the surest means of generating mass employment for youths, thus addressing the risks of youth frustration, radicalisation and restiveness.”
“YEIDEP’s core mandate is to tackle Nigeria’s chronic youth unemployment, youth poverty and youth hopelessness and also their imposed threats of youth radicalisation, socio-political instability, national insecurity and economic unproductivity, as presently being experienced in the country, which, if not addressed, will continue to endanger our human survival and political existence.
