By Danjuma Amodu
When a government moves from political rallies to real capital in the hands of young people, you know the conversation is changing.
Politics may win elections, but enterprise builds states.
Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo appears to understand that distinction. With the launch of the Kogi Youth Entrepreneurship and Business Grant Programme, and a commitment of ₦50 million monthly to scale it, the administration — through Commissioner Hon. Aridaojo Monday Anyebe (HAMA) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development is banking on the idea that youth business, not just youth mobilisation, will define its legacy.
The programme, launched with beneficiaries across all 21 LGAs, comes on the heels of Anyebe’s headline “One Million March for Ododo”, signalling a clear pivot from crowds to capital.
The Kogi State Government has commenced the Kogi Youth Entrepreneurship and Business Grant Programme under Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo.
Implementation is being led by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development under the leadership of the Commissioner, Hon. Aridaojo Monday Anyebe.
In what felt like both commendation and a challenge, the Governor, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Ayoade Arike, told beneficiaries in Lokoja that the intervention was designed to move young people from unemployment to enterprise.
She urged them to treat the grant not as a gift but as capital with a multiplier effect on youth empowerment in Kogi State.
“Please and please, make use of these grants. The real measure of success will be in the businesses you build and the jobs you create,” Ayoade said.
She went further to task the Ministry itself, reminding officials that distribution without follow-up would amount to waste. In what can be described as a ‘Performance Audit,’ she stressed:
“Don’t just give these grants and close your eyes. Follow up on what they have achieved and encourage them.”
Her final admonition to the young entrepreneurs was simple and pastoral: “Where you are starting does not matter. It is where God is taking you to.”
“This grant is seed capital. Use it to build, to employ, and to change your community.”
— Mrs. Folashade Ayoade Arike, SSG, Representing Governor Ododo
In appreciation of what the Governor described as a “laudable and result-driven initiative by one of his appointees,” Governor Ododo pledged ₦50 million monthly to expand the programme.
The additional funding is to widen the scope. In practical terms, this means more resources, more beneficiaries, and a far greater ripple effect for individuals, families, and the Kogi economy.
The timing of the pledge matters. It comes just one week after Commissioner Anyebe led one of the largest grassroots mobilisations of this administration.
Under his support group, codenamed HAMA for Ododo, the Commissioner organised the “One Million March for Ododo” in Okpo, the headquarters of Olamaboro Local Government Area.
The rally was held in support of Governor Usman Ododo’s second-term bid and the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
It cemented Anyebe’s reputation as one of the administration’s most visible, effective appointees and foot soldiers within the All Progressives Congress in the state.
That political capital is now being converted into economic action. From the organisation of grassroots football competitions, to the mass mobilisation in Okpo, and now to this grant rollout, Anyebe has steadily repositioned the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
It is no longer viewed as a department limited to sports and recreation alone, but as an engine for economic empowerment.
The codename ‘HAMA’ — Honourable Monday Aridaojo Anyebe — has come to mean action, mobilisation and delivery in Kogi political circles.
“This is a strategic investment in the human capital and economic future of Kogi State,” Anyebe said at the flag-off.
“With Mr. Governor’s ₦50 million monthly support, we can reach deeper into our communities, support more sectors, and track results more effectively.”
He observed that young Kogites are already active in agriculture, fashion, technology, food production and services.
What many of them lack, he said, is not ideas but capital, training and guidance.
To that end, the Ministry will provide training in business development, financial management, marketing and responsible capital use.
This will be backed by monitoring teams deployed across all 21 LGAs.
“A successful business does not merely sell a product; it solves a problem,” Anyebe noted.
“An idea can change a life. A business can change a family. An entrepreneur can change a community. And a generation of empowered young entrepreneurs can change an entire state.”
“With Mr. Governor’s ₦50 million monthly pledge, we now have the resources to deepen this intervention. More money means more beneficiaries and more economic rebound for Kogi.”
— Hon. Aridaojo Monday Anyebe, Commissioner, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development
The Commissioner reiterated that with the Governor’s monthly commitment, the programme is positioned to scale rapidly across the state.
This will allow for more qualified beneficiaries drawn from each Local Government Area.
From here, the analysis becomes instructive. While the actual number of awardees was not confirmed at press time, the potential impact can be reasonably projected.
If each awardee directly empowers five people through jobs, apprenticeships, suppliers, or family support, the economic ripple will spread quickly across communities.
That means more businesses in food, agro-processing, fashion, technology and trade.
It also means more goods and services circulating within Kogi rather than leaking out.
There is also a fiscal logic. As businesses formalise and grow, internally generated revenue from taxes and levies is projected to rise.
More importantly, productive enterprise offers an alternative to idleness and creates visible role models in every LGA.
This is how a grant programme graduates from welfare to development.
According to the Ministry, the next phase of youth empowerment will involve increased beneficiary intake from each LGA, stronger monitoring, and the linkage of top performers to larger funding and markets in subsequent phases.
The message to beneficiaries is therefore clear and direct. This is more than support. It is a responsibility to build businesses that will employ others and grow Kogi’s economy.
If sustained, the combination of political mobilisation and economic investment that Commissioner Anyebe represents could well define the Ododo administration’s legacy on youth.
For now, the state has capital on the table, leadership with a track record of delivery, and young people with ideas which Anyebe represent.
What happens next will depend on how well those three elements are managed. The Newsworthnews.com news platform will keep a tap on failures and progress of this grants in the interest of the economy of Kogi state.
The promise is on the table. Delivery will define the legacy.
Newsworthonline.com will track this programme closely, reporting not just the headlines, but the real impact on businesses and jobs, and holding stakeholders accountable in the best interest of Kogi’s economy.
