President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, is the first step to extensive police reforms by his administration.
Speaking at the launch of the Presidential Youth Empowerment Scheme, P-YES, on Monday, aimed at creating 774,000 jobs across the local government areas in Nigeria, President Buhari also directed that all those responsible for the misconduct or wrongful acts be brought to justice.
He said the disbanding of SARS is only the first step in his administration’s commitment to extensive police reforms in order to ensure that the primary duty of the police and other law enforcement agencies remains the protection of lives and the livelihood of the people.
On the empowerment programme, the President, while restating his administration’s commitment to youth development and poverty alleviation, pledged that the Federal Government policies of social protection and people empowerment would continue on track, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The President, who described P-YES as a cornerstone of his administration’s social and economic development strategies, said it is part of the overall policy of ensuring that 100 million Nigerians were lifted out of poverty in 10 years.
President Buhari, who took a tour of P-YES tools and equipment displayed at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa, expressed delight that the materials showcased represent the fruits of the initiatives embarked upon by his administration.
The President in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, used the occasion to call on State Governments, Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to factor the P-YES into their programmes, to assist the youth to realise their potentials in their chosen fields.
He urged local and foreign private sector operators in Nigeria to also contribute their share to the expansion of the programme through channelling their corporate social responsibility efforts towards skills acquisition, creation of start-ups, and other intervention measures.
President Buhari declared that the expansion of the P-YES would now be vigorously pursued, hinting that more resources will be committed to the achievement of its goals and objectives towards youth empowerment and entrepreneurship development.
The President commended the Office of the Senior Special Assistant on Youth and Students Affairs, under Hon. Nasiru Saidu Adhama, for driving the P-YES programme in accordance with the mandates prescribed for the office and the programme.
He expressed confidence that the programme being supervised by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation would make a significant difference.
In his remarks, Honourable Adhama assured the President that as achieved in the pilot phase of the programme the selection of beneficiaries in the full-scale P-YES scheme would be done with the utmost transparency and credibility, adding that equal opportunities will be observed in the delivery of equipment, tools, and machines to all states and LGAs.
