The Federal Government has launched a free nationwide financial inclusion and literacy training programme targeting 10 million Nigerians, with a special focus on women and youths.
The programme is being implemented through the Office of the Vice-President under the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), which is chaired by Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
It is designed to equip participants with essential financial knowledge, investment skills, and digital competencies needed for sustainable wealth creation and participation in Nigeria’s evolving digital economy.
As part of the initiative, the Office of the Vice-President, through PreCEFI, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with six professional bodies to jointly design training modules, certification pathways, digital skills programmes, and mentorship platforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s financial and enterprise workforce.
The professional bodies are the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), the National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), the Chartered Risk Management Institute (CRMI), and the Nigerian Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NIIE).
Speaking at the launch, Shettima said the MoU represented more than a formal agreement, describing it as a strategic national investment in human capacity.
He noted that Nigeria can only fully benefit from its demographic dividend if young people and women are equipped with the skills, competence, and ethical grounding required in a fast-advancing digital economy.
According to him, the Aso Accord on Economic and Financial Inclusion, which PreCEFI is mandated to implement, recognises that financial inclusion goes beyond access to financial services and must be anchored on competence, trust, and capability.
Shettima stressed that Nigeria cannot build a one-trillion-dollar economy on weak skills, fragmented standards, or disconnected professional ecosystems.
He explained that the MoU provides a framework for harnessing the collective expertise of the six professional bodies to promote inclusion through capacity building, advocacy, digital transformation, youth empowerment, and support for small and medium practitioners.
“This collaboration establishes structured mechanisms for joint training programmes, policy dialogue, digital skills development, and professional standards that align market practices with national inclusion goals,” he said.
The vice-president added that without professionals who understand MSME formalisation, consumer protection, digital risks, and enterprise development, financial inclusion would remain a slogan rather than a functioning system.
He charged PreCEFI and the participating professional bodies to treat the MoU as a platform for action rather than a ceremonial document.
“On behalf of President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, I hereby flag off the free training of 10 million Nigerians, with priority for women and youth across the country,” Shettima declared.
Earlier, the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Malam Haruna Yahaya, commended the Tinubu administration for its economic reforms, noting that the training initiative was a product of visible improvements in the economy.
Yahaya assured the Federal Government of the institute’s full professional support, describing ICAN’s participation in the programme as an institutional honour.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of WAWU Africa, the programme’s technical partner, Emmanuel Lennox, said the company was ready to provide the digital platform and enabling environment required for the programme’s success.
Similarly, the Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, Dr Nurudeen Zauro, said exclusion is often driven by limited skills and weak institutional capacity, stressing that financial inclusion is only achieved when people are equipped to use financial infrastructure responsibly and sustainably.
The event culminated in the formal signing of the MoU between the Federal Government and the six professional bodies.
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