Governor Idris Plans to Skill-up Political Thugs, Give them Stipends 

The state government has taken steps to address political thuggery in the state, according to Alhaji Nura Bala-Fingiller, Kebbi Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the briefing is being organised by the ministry to showcase the achievements of the present administration in less than a year.

The commissioner said: “Gov. Nasir Idris has directed me to scout for famous political thugs, to put them under a token stipend, and to train them on skill acquisition.

“This is with a view to not only curbing thuggery, but also making them to become productive, self-reliant and, if possible, employers of labour.”

He continued by saying that the ministry was planning a youth sensitization programme about the value of skill development and the risks associated with drug abuse in each of the state’s 21 local government areas.

“The programme is under the umbrella of the Kebbi Youth Council; it also engages foreign agencies on youth development programmes with the desire to complement the efforts of the Kebbi Government in providing our teeming youths with means of survival and self-reliance,” he said.

He claimed that sufficient preparations had already been made by the ministry to build a standard skills acquisition training centre specifically for the youth’s training in each of the state’s four Emirates.

The commissioner highlighted several beach soccer triumphs, including the Kebbi government’s hosting of the 2022 Beach Soccer League, the Kebbi Beach Soccer Team’s participation in and victory at the Lagos International Beach Soccer Championship, and their ranking as the top team in Nigeria.

Speaking about the promotion of football players throughout Europe and the Middle East, Bala-Fingiller stated that six players were currently undergoing trials, and that other players were getting ready to travel to Portugal in order to undergo trials and sign contracts for the 2023–2024 football season.

He went on to say that the FIFA Grading Programme saw the nomination of two state-sponsored referees as a result of the Referees Development Programme, which was sponsored by the ministry.