By Ishaq Dan-Imam, Lokoja
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Kogi State, north-central Nigeria, has empowered about one hundred and eight Nigerians with business skills in different business areas to become wealth creators in the economy.
A statement by the public relations officer of NDE in Kogi State, Abdulmalik Tijjani Ibrahim, on Wednesday, said the agency had carried out a series of business development training for scale business owners in the state, with the disbursement of loan facilities to 98 persons under Micro Enterprise Enhancement Scheme (MEES), while four persons received training under the ‘Start Your Own Business’ (SYOB) scheme.
According to Mr. Ibrahim, four businesswomen were provided soft loans under the Basic Business Training (BBT) program of NDE, while two women were empowered with startups under the Mature People’s Programme (MPP) scheme run by the agency, which also trained 70 unemployed graduates under its Small Scale Enterprises Programme.
In the statement, Kogi State Coordinator, Mr. Ibidun Abiodun Amos, disclosed that the Small Scale Enterprises (SSE) Department of the Directorate carried out the training last week.
The statement said no fewer than 108 unemployed benefited from the facility with the breakdown as follows:
“MEES N20,000 each to 98 persons, 4 BBT beneficiaries, 4 SYOB beneficiaries, 2 MPP beneficiaries, and 70 graduates were trained under the SSE scheme.
The Director General of NDE, Mr. Nuhu Fikpo, has reiterated during the programs that all the achievements wouldn’t have been achieved without the political will of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose Renewed Hope Agenda encompasses Job Creation and poverty alleviation.
Amos, further stated that “all hands must be on deck to support the good work of the federal government towards achieving prosperity for all in Nigeria, adding that “unemployed persons must avail themselves of this great lifetime opportunity to become business owners and by implication employers of labour,” Amos said.
The Head of Department, Small Scale Enterprises in Kogi State Office, Mr. Muftau Umar, charged participants to make judicious use of the opportunity to have a life-changing experience of NDE’s life-changing Programs.
According to Umar, many Nigerian citizens pay heavily to acquire skills of this nature because they know what it means to be self-employed. He urged the beneficiaries to shun social vices that could affect their future negatively.
Mrs Olorunfemi Esther who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, commended President Tinubu for his unrelenting effort geared towards winning the war against unemployment. According to her, the hope of the unemployed has been renewed under the current administration. She promised to make NDE proud of the opportunity it has provided them.
