Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano said his government has spent N135 million on empowerment of 6,873 motor park petty traders.
Ganduje made the disclosure on Thursday at the official launching of the empowerment programme for petty traders at the indoor sports hall of Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano.
According to him, the gesture is to enable the beneficiaries improve their businesses.
The governor said that the programme was driven by the need to encourage the youth to be self-employed and to establish their own businesses.
“A total of 6,873 youths drawn from different motor parks in the state will benefit from the empowerment and each of them will receive N20,000.
“The government of Kano State has empowered over 200,000 youths since inception of the administration,’’ Ganduje said.
He said that his administration had empowered 700,000 people out of the one million promised by his administration.
Ganduje said that the empowerment programme introduced by the state government had reduced youth restiveness and other anti-social behaviours.
The governor also said that the programme would go a long way in complementing the efforts of the Federal Government toward addressing unemployment problem, especially among youths in the country.
He also said that the state government would empower 6,000 food vendors and 6,500 phone repairers soon.
The governor urged the youth in the state to vote President Muhammadu Buhari during the forthcoming elections in 2019.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Murtala Sule-Garo, said the programme was designed to empower unemployed youths in the state.
He commended the governor for adding value to the lives of the teeming population in the state