Musa Na Allah, Sokoto
Sokoto State Government has graduated 300 youths and women trained in tailoring under the PATE Project, in a major empowerment drive aimed at tackling unemployment, reducing poverty and strengthening economic self reliance among vulnerable residents.
The beneficiaries, who successfully completed the tailoring training programme, were each presented with a tailoring machine and N50,000 start-up capital to enable them to translate the skills acquired into viable businesses and sustainable sources of livelihood.
The initiative, championed by the wife of the Sokoto State Governor, Hajiya Fatima Ahmed Aliyu, was implemented in collaboration with the State Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Department of Community Development and the Poverty Reduction Agency.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Hajiya Fatima Ahmed Aliyu described the programme as part of a broader human-capital development strategy designed to move beneficiaries from dependency and unemployment to productive enterprise and financial independence.
She stressed that the empowerment initiative was not a one-off intervention, but a continuous process that would be sustained and expanded to reach more youths and women across the state.
According to her, the collaboration among her office, the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and relevant government agencies was aimed at creating stronger opportunities for young people to acquire practical skills and build sustainable livelihoods.
She said the graduation of the 300 beneficiaries represented another significant milestone in the administration’s determination to invest in human capital, particularly through vocational training, entrepreneurship and targeted economic empowerment.
Hajiya Aliyu noted that skills acquisition remained a critical instrument for addressing the twin challenges of unemployment and poverty, stressing that empowering citizens with practical skills would enable them to become employers of labour rather than perpetual job seekers.
She urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the tailoring machines and the N50,000 start-up capital, advising them to deploy the resources toward establishing and expanding their businesses rather than diverting them to non-productive ventures.
The governor’s wife further encouraged the graduates to remain committed to excellence, innovation and hard work, assuring them that the ultimate objective of the programme was to create sustainable businesses capable of supporting beneficiaries, their families and communities.
She commended the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Department of Community Development and the Poverty Reduction Agency for their cooperation and commitment to the successful implementation of the programme.
Hajiya Aliyu called for sustained collaboration among the participating institutions, stressing the need to expand similar interventions to more communities and create greater opportunities for women and youths across Sokoto State.
The empowerment programme is also expected to contribute to the growth of the state’s informal economy by increasing the number of skilled artisans and small-scale entrepreneurs capable of providing essential services within their communities.
The graduation therefore marks a significant step in the state’s broader efforts to promote inclusive economic participation, strengthen household incomes and equip citizens with practical tools to withstand the challenges of unemployment and economic hardship.
With the combination of skills training, productive equipment and start-up funding, the initiative seeks to establish a new generation of self-reliant tailors whose businesses can generate income, create employment and contribute to the socio-economic development of Sokoto State.
