Alhaji Nura Bala-Fingiller, Kebbi Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, says the state government has made arrangements to tackle all forms of political thuggery in the state.
Bala-Fingiller disclosed this at a weekly press briefing organised by the State Ministry of Information and Culture, held in Birnin Kebbi on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the briefing is being organised by the ministry to showcase the achievements of the present administration in less than a year.
The commissioner said, ”Gov. Nasir Idris has directed me to scout for famous political thugs, put them under a token stipend, and train them on skill acquisition.
“This is with a view to not only curbing thuggery but also making them productive, self-reliant, and, if possible, employers of labour.”
He added that the ministry was organising a sensitization program for the youths in all 21 local government areas of the state on the importance of skills training as well as the dangers of drug abuse.
“The programme is under the umbrella of the Kebbi Youth Council; it also engages foreign agencies on youth development programmes with the desire to complement the efforts of the Kebbi Government in providing our teeming youths with means of survival and self-reliance,” he said.
According to him, the ministry had already made adequate arrangements to construct a standard skills acquisition training centre in each of the four Emirates of the state, purposely for the training of the youth.
The commissioner identified success stories in beach soccer, including winning the 2022 Beach Soccer League hosted by the Kebbi government, participating in and winning the Lagos International Beach Soccer Championship, and ranking the Kebbi Beach Soccer Team as number one in Nigeria, among others.
Speaking on the marketing of football players across Europe and the Middle East, Bala-Fingiller said six players were already on trial, while others were preparing for Portugal’s trial and signing subsequent contracts for the 2023–2024 football season.
He added that the state government, through the ministry, sponsored the Referees Development Programme, which resulted in the nomination of its two referees to the FIFA Grading Programme. (NAN)
