No fewer than 411,906 Nigerians have applied for 41,307 available slots in the second phase of the National Directorate of Employment?s (NDE) Renewed Hope Employment Initiative.

Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Silas Agara, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday, adding that the portal for registration had been closed.

Agara said the number of beneficiaries had been increased from the initial 27,000 planned for this phase to 41,307, following interest from development partners who indicated readiness to support the scheme.

According to him, 109,566 applications were received from the North-West zone, 93,724 from the North-East, 83,924 from the North-Central, 56,118 from the South-West, 38,628 from the South-South, and 29,946 from the South-East.

Kaduna topped the state list with over 54,000 applicants, followed by Yobe with 19,000 and Nasarawa with 15,000. Ebonyi recorded the lowest figure, with over 8,000 applicants.

The NDE boss explained that a minimum of four beneficiaries would be selected from each ward nationwide. Screening will run from August 12 to 22, with the final list of successful applicants to be published between September 1 and 2.

Training will begin in the first week of September, while about 14,000 participants will be resettled after completion.

The DG added that financial institutions partnering with the NDE would support some beneficiaries. He, however, noted that budgetary constraints meant more applicants could not be accommodated this year, promising a larger intake in 2026.

?At this juncture, I want to inform Nigerians that as at the time we shut down the portal by 11:59 on Monday, August 11, a number of 411,906 persons successfully applied for the employment programme. And prior to some development partners who have indicated interest to support NDE, we have also increased the number of those that will benefit from the Initiative from the initial 27,000 to 41,307. This is almost a hundred per cent increase from the initial figure,? he stated. (Daily Sun)

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