The Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has assured that his administration would sustain the training of youths in new skills at training centres to keep them productive and meaningfully engaged and able to contribute effectively to the growth of the state economy.
Governor Obiano made the pledge Thursday at the Flag-off of the Maiden Skills acquisition training for one hundred and fifty youths at the Federal Youth Development Centre, Mgbakwu, Awka South Local Government Area, Anambra State.
The governor stated that he initiated a system through which youths in the State would be trained on life sustaining skills that would help them towards self-actualization.
Said the Obiano; “The 150 youths here today were selected from the 21 Council Areas of the state, made up of 70% women and amongst them are ten persons chosen from the Muslim Community in Anambra. The training is free of charge for a period of three months in specific faculties including ICT, phone repairs, confectionaries, cosmetics, inter-locking blocks moulding and tiling, POP and Wall Screeding etc.”
Obiano revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria had promised to give the State additional N5bn following the successful application of the initial N1.5bn adding that this would go a long way in helping many more youths to undergo training at the facility which can only take 150 students now.
He noted that other centres across the state like the Technology Incubation Centre Nnewi was also currently training two hundred and fifty youths and on completion the trainees would be issued with certificates and seed money as take-off grant.
Obiano explained that due to paucity of funds, his administration had reactivated only 40 percent of the facility hence the number of trainees, adding that when it fully comes on stream, the facility would accommodate over 1000 trainees at a time.
The Federal Youth Development Centre Mgbakwu, a project sitting on about 60 hectares of land, was completed in 2008 but has since then been abandoned until the Obiano administration intervened and renovated the facility for training and other purposes.
The governor further revealed that the state government would do some palliative work on the road leading to the facility for access while the borehole project would also be reactivated to supply water to the facility.
Governor Obiano urged the youths to be serious with the programme and be disciplined, warning that government would not hesitate to eject anyone found to be unserious.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Youths Entrepreneurship and Sports Development, Dr. Uju Nworgu said that Governor Obiano matched words with action in positively engaging youths as leaders of tomorrow, adding that he was not only training them but also creating the enabling environment for them to explore their potentials especially in the Sports Sector.
The Commissioner thanked the governor for supporting the development of youths which had seen them excel in sporting competitions across the country and the globe.
In his speech, the Managing Director of Anambra Small Business Agency (ASBA), Chief Clement Chukwuka, noted that the Obiano administration set up the agency to drive the process of boosting activities of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the State through the provision of start-up funds and acknowledged that the programme was key in equipping the youths with the necessary knowledge and expertise that would make them attractive to financiers.
He also explained that the training programme being witnessed was the outcome of agro credit fund which would enable the participants to be engaged.
The President General of Mgbakwu, Chief Harold Okafor who was represented by a former Lands Commissioner in the State, Chief Kenneth Enenmuo, expressed the Community’s appreciation of what the government was bringing to the town and appealed to the state government to address some key challenges militating against the full operation of the facility, assuring the Governor of their continued support.
Some of the trainees including Mr. Joseph Okonkwo from Ebenebe and Hajiya Mariam Raji from the Muslim Community thanked the governor for the opportunity given to them and promised to make effective use of it.
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