Being Text of a Speech by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Akwe Doma, OON (Madauchin Doma) on the Occasion of the Inauguration of the Nasarawa State Skills Acquisition Scheme and Commissioning of Four Skills Acquisition Centres in Nasarawa State, Holding at Doma, Thursday, 10th December, 2009

PROTOCOL

It is with gratitude to Almighty Allah and a sense of fulfillment that I welcome you all to this historic occasion of:
the inauguration ceremony of the Nasarawa State Skills Acquisition Scheme; and,

the commissioning of Wamba, Nasarawa, Lafia and Doma Skills Acquisition Centres.

Let me specially welcome the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Alhassan Bako Zaku and the President, African Business Round Table, Alhaji (Dr.) Bamanga Tukur, CON to Nasarawa State. In the same token, I also warmly welcome the Director-General, Industrial Training Fund, Professor Longman Sambo Wapmuk and the Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education, Professor David Awambor; and other such distinguished guests, here present.

We are, indeed, encouraged by your distinguished presence in our midst, today. This is no doubt, a demonstration of your recognition and appreciation of our efforts to empower our people to address the menace of poverty and unemployment, as well as the promotion of self-reliance.

Ladies and gentlemen, you would recall that in November, 2008, I launched the Nasarawa State Economic Empowerment Programme aimed at employment generation, wealth creation and poverty reduction. The objectives of the programme are:

1) economic emancipation and empowerment of our youth and women groups through skills acquisition for various trades and ventures;

2) creation of a business environment and economic culture which will address the absence of entrepreneurial know-how among our people;

3) stimulation of the creative imagination, talent and curiosity of our youth in the pursuit for self-development and excellence;

4) general enhancement of the socio-economic status of our people.

To this end, Government established the Bureau for Economic Empowerment to realize the objectives of:
Skills Acquisition;
Business Development, and
the promotion of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.

Accordingly, we embarked on the reorganization, restructuring, upgrading and equipping of our Relevant Technology Centres into the now four Model Skills Acquisition Centres located in Lafia, Doma, Wamba and Nasarawa. It is these Centres that we are here today, to commission.

In this efforts, Government invested N1.6billion for the provision of technical workshops, equipment, infrastructural facilities and instructional materials.

It is gratifying to note that 30 vocational trades have been identified and designed for the first batch of the 2000 trainees who are drawn from all the Local Government and Development Areas of the State.

To provide the needed incentives and encouragement to the trainees, Government has approved a monthly allowance of Three Thousand Naira (N3,000.00) for each trainee during the course. On successful completion, Government will assist participants to access loan facilities from our State Micro-Finance Bank with which to set up their own business enterprises.

I am pleased to point out that the trainees are also eligible to take the Labour Trade Test, as well as NABTEB Certificate examinations at the end of their courses to prepare them for competition in the labour market.

Today’s occasion, therefore, marks a significant milestone in our quest to achieve the set goals of our Economic Empowerment Programme.

At this juncture, I would like to call on all the trainees, and indeed all the youth and women of Nasarawa State, to avail yourselves of the opportunity offered by this scheme to acquire new skills and trades for gainful employment and self-reliance. I want to assure you that Government is determined to sustain the Skills Acquisition Scheme as a strategy for accelerated youth and socio-economic development in the State.

Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot conclude this address without appealing to relevant institutions, agencies and our development partners, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, the National Poverty Alleviation Programme, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, the National Directorate of Employment, the Millennium Development Goals Office, as well as Non-Governmental Organisations to cooperate, collaborate and partner with us in the implementation of this scheme, in keeping with our collective desire to create employment opportunities, reduce poverty and ensure social security amongst our people for the good of all.

On this note, I would like once again to express our appreciation to our esteemed guests who have found time out of their tight schedules to grace this occasion. We are indeed grateful and encouraged by your support.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is now my pleasure to:

inaugurate the Nasarawa State Skills Acquisition Scheme; and,

commission the four Skills Acquisition Centres located in Doma, Lafia, Wamba and Nasarawa.

Thank you and God bless.