By Samson Obande,  Lafia.

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has commissioned and distributed 50 solar-powered digital business kiosks to youth beneficiaries under the Sule Economic Empowerment and Development Scheme, SEEDS, describing the initiative as a practical demonstration of his administration’s commitment to youth empowerment and ease of doing business.

Governor Sule distributed the digital kiosks to identified beneficiaries at the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technical Institute, Lafia, on Wednesday.

The Governor commended the initiative for being built and fabricated locally at the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Institute, noting that the kiosks reflected the standard of skill and craftsmanship available within the state, comparable to imported products.

He explained that each kiosk, valued at about ₦2.5 million, would offer services including JAMB and WAEC result checks, DSTV and GOtv subscription payments, electricity bill payments, bank account opening, debit card issuance, flight ticket booking, hotel reservations, data and airtime top-ups, and solar-powered phone charging for multiple devices at once.

Governor Sule said the programme began with 50 beneficiaries as a pilot to test its viability before scaling up, adding that beneficiaries were given more than the ₦100,000 working capital typically expected, to give them a stronger start.

He noted that Nasarawa State recently emerged as the sole beneficiary at a meeting with the President and Vice President on the National Working Technical Committee report on agriculture, and disclosed that the state had also won $17 million under a separate World Bank programme, ACReSAL, which remains unspent and available to scale up youth empowerment initiatives such as SEEDS.

The Governor urged the beneficiaries to treat the kiosks as serious business ventures rather than casual grants, and challenged them to prove their commitment, promising that if the pilot succeeds within three to four months, he would release ₦2.5 billion to scale the programme up to 1,000 kiosks.

He also used the occasion to caution youth against being misled by false political claims, stressing that no APC governorship primary result has been altered and urging young people to channel their energy into productive ventures rather than street protests driven by misinformation.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Kwanta Yakubu, said the Ministry had developed SEEDS after identifying data-coordination gaps across previous youth empowerment programmes run by various government agencies.

Hon. Kwanta said the scheme began with training 50 youth in financial technology ahead of the kiosk deployment, and disclosed that a broader Socio-Economic Empowerment Development Scheme strategic plan, targeting unemployed graduates, artisans, vocational skill seekers, aspiring entrepreneurs, and rural youth and women, was being finalised for implementation across the state’s 13 local government areas between 2026 and 2030.

The development partner, Pinnacle Hi-Tech, represented by Mr. John Uzor, described the kiosks as solar-powered, one-stop business units equipped with point-of-sale terminals funded with ₦100,000 each, phone-charging sockets, a solar-powered fan, and internet connectivity.

Uzor said beneficiaries were trained on entrepreneurship and kiosk operation in partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN.

In a goodwill message, the Executive Director of the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technical Institute, Dr. Ewuga Esele, said the kiosks were fully fabricated at the institute, describing the project as proof of the technical competence of Nasarawa youth.

The ED appealed for the programme to be expanded across the state, citing strong public interest since the kiosks were first displayed.

Also delivering a goodwill message, the ALGON Chairman, Hon. Safiyanu Isa Andaha, commended the Governor’s commitment to youth development and pledged the continued support of local government chairmen.

In a vote of thanks on behalf of the beneficiaries, Solomon Egye expressed gratitude for the opportunity and pledged to put the empowerment to productive use.