By Ene Mary McDickson, Correspondent, Frontline Daily | 24 September 2026

The initiative, unveiled in Abuja on Thursday, is aimed at deepening public awareness of the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS) and other vocational, entrepreneurship and digital empowerment schemes.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on TVEE, Dr Abiola Arogundade, handed out the devices at a media information and empowerment meeting attended by digital media managers, an engagement designed to give practitioners direct insight into government initiatives while strengthening their capacity to link potential beneficiaries with available opportunities.

Arogundade said her office would also reach out to print and broadcast practitioners in due course, to ensure every part of the media ecosystem plays a role in the outreach.

"The empowerment of media personnel is deliberate because you play a critical role in ensuring that government programmes reach communities, young Nigerians, entrepreneurs and other potential beneficiaries," she said.

She emphasised that media coverage was key to taking government interventions beyond Abuja into communities nationwide. "Without you, even if we go to these places, nobody will know. We want everybody to know what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing, not just here in Abuja, but in all states," she said.

According to Arogundade, many young Nigerians, artisans and small entrepreneurs already have the skills to participate in the digital economy but are held back by a lack of access to devices. "A phone or laptop is a tool to find new customers and turn training into certification. Without it, even the most capable people are locked out of the world," she said.

She said the Federal Government was extending digital devices and skills training to states across the country to widen participation in the digital and vocational economy, and urged beneficiaries to put the tablets to productive use — particularly in spreading awareness of government programmes and connecting people to opportunities.

"We cannot keep empowering technical people and forget the media. You are the people helping us pass this message to the world. That is why you are here," she said.

Arogundade also called for strong media coverage of the upcoming NPRGS Oyo State phase, running from September 28 to October 9, 2026, describing it as part of the government's broader grassroots empowerment push.

The initiative underscores the Federal Government's commitment to expanding access to vocational skills, digital tools, entrepreneurship opportunities and timely information as part of its inclusive development agenda at the grassroots.