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Delta commissioner urges private sector to participate in emergence of leaders

By Owen Akenzua, Asaba
22 September 2016   |   3:05 am
Development has been slow in Nigeria because the private sector stays away from the processes that produce political leaders, the Delta State Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah has said.

Patrick-Ukah

Development has been slow in Nigeria because the private sector stays away from the processes that produce political leaders, the Delta State Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah has said.

Ukah stated this recently at the opening session of train-the-trainer programme on the Fundamentals of Leadership hosted by the Academy for Governance in Ibusa Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.

Ukah said the full take-off of the academy in the state will help to inculcate fundamental leadership traits into participants and challenged youths and Deltans in general to maximize the opportunity.

The Commissioner expressed worry over the way youths were involved in unwholesome acts like armed robbery, drug trafficking and consumption, adding that mentoring them now would bring a paradigm shift in their lifestyle.

He assured the founder and management of the school of government’s partnership, emphasizing that apart from being a knowledge center, it will create jobs for the host community and the state at large.

He told stakeholders of the school that their vision was in line with the SMART agenda of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa whom, he said, has given erudite scholars opportunity to use their knowledge to train and empower youths to become employers of labour in different fields.

Ukah said the entrepreneurial programmes of Governor Okowa has raised over 1,500 small, medium and large scale businessmen in different fields, stressing that a new batch of participants will commence training this week.

He further added that the Asaba airport was being expanded and upgraded to meet the required standard that can take all kinds of planes.

According to him, the four sea ports and massive construction of roads and other potentials of the state were being harnessed to turn it into an economic hub for South South and South East geopolitical zones of the country.

On his part, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Barrister Chiedu Ebie, represented by his Special Assistant, Technical, Mr. Ernest Ossai, said capacity building was a sure way to making progress in all spheres of life and lauded the institute for the bold step. He advocated that any nation that has no leadership training programme for its citizens was doomed and challenged government at all levels and the private sector not to spare any effort in routine training of its people for efficiency and performance.

The founder of the school and a reknowned scholar, Prof. Austine Nwandulu, said the vision of the academy was to bridge the widening gap in leadership and management in both public and private sectors.

Prof. Nwandulu, a Deltan, said he decided to bring the pan-Nigeria and Africa school home as a way of raising leaders for today and tomorrow in all areas, pointing out that before 2025, the state and the region would have produced enough manpower that are seasoned in leadership.

The Coordinator General of the school, Dr. Olusegun Sogbesan, said the training is open to participants in secondary schools and others from all cadres in administration.

He said Delta being the host will be given preference in admission and urged Deltans to maximize the opportunity.

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