By Adedapo Adesanya

The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), has partnered with Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, to provide funding and support for the next generation of Nigerian youth entrepreneurs.

The announcement coincides with International Youth Day 2026, whose global theme this year — Different Contexts, Common Aspirations — calls on institutions to close the gap between young people’s circumstances and their opportunities. The pilot is an early step toward NiYA’s broader ambition to train and empower 7 million Nigerian youth within two years.

The NiYA and Cascador Founders Programme will begin with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders, including entrepreneurs without formal business registration or established financial records.

Over four weeks, participants will undergo intensive training focused on business fundamentals, investment readiness and pitch preparation. At the end of the programme, the eight top-performing founders will receive non-dilutive funding of up to N5 million each from Cascador, alongside an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to help them structure, manage and scale their businesses.

The funding and support will be presented at a Pitch Day organised by NiYA and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.

The Minister for Youth Development, Mr s Ayodele Olawande, said the partnership would enable NiYA to move beyond training by helping young people transform ideas into investable businesses and achieve sustainable economic participation through business preparation and access to capital.

“The pilot is deliberately designed to test a model that can go beyond one cohort. If young founders can be identified early, prepared properly, connected to credible capital and supported to build stronger business systems, then access to opportunity becomes less dependent on background or existing networks. That is the larger objective: to build a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in which readiness, ideas and execution can increasingly determine who gets the opportunity to grow.”

The pilot will run in-person in Abuja with virtual touchpoints and 1:1 mentorship. All 20 graduates retain NiYA alumni status, with priority consideration for future opportunities.

NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like — the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions. What we’re building together now is the missing piece, a practical bridge from the ideation stage to real capital-readiness. When a Ministry so dedicated to its young people asked Cascador to help build that bridge, it was an easy decision,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador.

Ms Oyin Solebo, COO of Cascador and former Managing Director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, highlighted the partnership’s impact, saying, “This is what innovative capital deployment looks like: a government building real investment readiness at scale, and a partner meeting that foundational work with non-dilutive funding at exactly the moment it’s needed. Partnerships like this open doors that neither of us could open alone.”

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

About N3.82 billion in settlement of Back-End Computation (BEC) pension arrears has been disbursed to 30,356 Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) pensioners by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD).

A statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications at PTAD, Mr Olugbenga Ajayi, said on Friday that the beneficiaries were drawn from across the Parastatals Pension Department (PaPD), Defunct and Transferred Agencies Pension Department (DTAPD), and Tertiary, Education and Health Pension Department (TEHPD).

According to him, this payment represents accrued arrears arising from the BEC review exercise conducted by the directorate to address and resolve complaints relating to pension computations and outstanding entitlements of DBS pensioners.

He stated that the disbursement further demonstrates PTAD’s sustained commitment to addressing verified outstanding obligations and improving the welfare of DBS Pensioners under its mandate.

The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Ms Tolulope Odunaiya, expressed appreciation to the affected DBS pensioners for their cooperation throughout the review process, reaffirming the organisation’s commitment to the timely, transparent, and accountable payment of verified pension entitlements.

She further noted that this payment reflects the federal government’s commitment to addressing pension-related issues and strengthening pension administration under the DBS.

The PTAD chief said her agency remains committed to continuous engagement with DBS pensioners, prompt resolution of pension-related complaints, and the delivery of efficient, transparent, and accountable DBS pension administration.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Nigerian refineries will not be allowed to waste away, given the huge investments made over many years, President Bola Tinubu has declared.

Speaking on Thursday in Abuja, the President assured that in-depth research, restructuring, and leadership will reposition the moribund oil facilities to deliver value and profit.

Responding to a request by the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), led by its leader, Mr Salimon Akanni Oladiti, to revive the nation’s oil refineries, Mr Tinubu explained that the challenges confronting the refineries would be addressed through a systematic, evidence-based approach rather than short-term interventions.

According to him, the federal government will encourage detailed research and technical assessments to identify the structural, operational, financial and managerial challenges affecting the facilities and develop sustainable solutions.

“The refineries that you mentioned are going to come back to work; we’re just building a very firm, resetting, and structural reworking of the economy of it. Ordinary flame and smoke of a refinery doesn’t mean that it’s working until it’s profitable and yields the value for which it is built.

“I’m not a man who goes looking back on everything because I’ve accepted the assets and liabilities of my predecessor. No matter what has happened in the years past, it’s now my responsibility as president to fix it and make it work for the greatest common good of our population. I take responsibility for that, and we will do it.

“I will just appeal to all of you to let us work diligently and passionately on this democracy. Democracy is about celebration of freedom and opportunity that must be cherished by all of us, just like a painful childbirth, but the joy is everlasting and long. And I promise you, you will enjoy a better Nigeria,” the President was quoted as saying in a statement signed by his spokesman, Mr Bayo Onanuga.

Responding to the remark on the implementation of local government autonomy, President Tinubu promised that the constitutional issues involved in its implementation are being reviewed for possible fine-tuning. He appealed for understanding among stakeholders.

He also took the opportunity to acknowledge a former President of the Union, the late Frank Kokori, for his role in deepening democracy in Nigeria.

“You brought good memories of my relationship with Frank Kokori; may his soul rest in peace. We struggled for this democratic dispensation together, and it was very tough for us to have this democracy, and you have been a very good partner of the government in progress,” he said.

Mr Tinubu also promised the NUPENG executives more inclusion in the implementation of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas. He, however, challenged them to make the effects of the CNG drive get down to the commuters.

In his remarks, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris, commended NUPENG for acknowledging the positive outcomes of President Tinubu’s reform agenda, stating that this mutual understanding has reduced friction between trade unions and the government.

On his part, Mr Oladiti commended the President for taking the bold decision to end the fuel subsidy regime, describing the policy as a courageous step that has saved the country from decades of financial drain and depletion of national reserves.

According to him, the decision to remove the fuel subsidy has begun to yield enormous benefits for the country by freeing resources for critical infrastructure development and other sectors of the economy.

He particularly commended President Tinubu’s renewed commitment to rehabilitating and constructing major highways across the country, especially the ongoing construction of the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway as major examples of infrastructure projects.

“For our members, a good road is the difference between arriving home safely and never arriving at all. Every stretch of highway rehabilitated or constructed means fewer accidents, fewer spillages, fewer lives lost, and less stress for the men behind the wheels.

“Mr President, that is a reform our members feel in their bones, and for it we say thank you because our tanker drivers and other road users are already seeing the benefits of the rehabilitation and construction of federal highways,” he said.