The Federal Government has equipped 70 digital media managers with tablets to strengthen grassroots communication and expand public awareness of its vocational, entrepreneurship and digital empowerment programmes.

The initiative, spearheaded by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (OSSAP-TVEE), was unveiled yesterday in Abuja during a media information and empowerment meeting with digital media practitioners.

The intervention is aimed at improving dissemination of information on the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS), vocational training, entrepreneurship and digital empowerment programmes, particularly among potential beneficiaries outside Abuja.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on TVEE, Dr. Abiola Arogundade, who presented the tablets to the beneficiaries, said empowering media practitioners was deliberate because they remained critical to ensuring that government interventions reached communities.

She said the Federal Government could take programmes and opportunities to communities, but without effective communication, many potential beneficiaries might never know that such opportunities existed.

“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,” Arogundade said.

She added: “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.”

Arogundade said the government was also addressing the digital access gap confronting young Nigerians, artisans, trained professionals and small entrepreneurs who possess skills but lack the devices required to deploy them effectively.

According to her, access to digital devices can determine whether skills acquired through government training translate into sustainable economic opportunities.

“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.

The presidential aide said the Federal Government was taking digital devices and skills training to states across the country as part of efforts to expand participation in the digital and vocational economy.

She urged the beneficiaries to deploy the tablets productively, particularly by amplifying information on government programmes and linking potential beneficiaries with available 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 announced plans to subsequently engage print and broadcast media practitioners, saying the wider media ecosystem must be involved in taking information on government interventions to the grassroots.

She called for robust coverage of the forthcoming NPRGS Oyo State phase, scheduled for September 28 to October 9, 2026, as part of the administration’s grassroots vocational and entrepreneurship empowerment drive.

The initiative, she said, was part of the Federal Government’s broader effort to expand access to vocational skills, digital tools, entrepreneurship opportunities and timely information, particularly among Nigerians at the grassroots.