The Minister of State for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, has declared that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a crucial role in enhancing youth productivity, rather than replacing human capabilities. Speaking at the launch of NiGPT, a revolutionary project aimed at harnessing AI to transform various sectors and improve performance, Olawande expressed his enthusiasm for Nigerian innovators developing locally-compliant solutions to drive productivity in sectors with potentials for job creation.

According to the Minister, the solutions offered by NiGPT will deliver real local solutions to address specific problems across sectors, leading to improved economic productivity and youth success in areas such as agriculture. “I am confident that the project we are launching here today will improve our economic productivity and help our youth to do well in sectors that they usually run away from, particularly agriculture,” Olawande said.

Olawande also charged the founders of NiGPT to prioritize the training of youth in the emerging AI sector in Nigeria, emphasizing that the sector can only deliver optimally when the youth are sufficiently equipped with the technical capacity to drive it. He pledged the readiness of the Ministry of Youth Development to partner with innovators to ensure that as many youth as possible acquire the skill to deploy AI for work efficiency and enhanced productivity.

The Minister noted that innovation and service improvement, which artificial intelligence promotes, are the hallmark of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” Agenda. He expressed his commitment to supporting initiatives that harness the potential of AI to drive youth productivity and national development.