Gombe govt, UNDP to train women, youths in trades

• Speaker charges council chairmen on revenue drive
• Group seeks zoning Speakership position to North-East

IN its effort to reduce restiveness among youths in Gombe State, Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo has said that about 930 youths and women would be trained in six trades across the state.

Dankwambo, who disclosed this while speaking at the flag-off of the training organised by the state government in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held at the auditorium of the Gombe State University, said that 600 youths would be trained in six trades and 330 women in four trades.

The governor, who was represented by the State Commissioner for Economic Planning, Alhaji Danladi Mohammed Fantami, said the success recorded in the youths’ sector was as a result of several skills’ acquisition programmes and re-orientation of youths towards making them self-employed and being responsible citizens.

He said the state government had paid its counterpart contribution of N162 million for the delivery of all the components of assistance to the state while the UNDP on its part has fully met its obligation by providing its funding component and the provision of all the needed technical and professional support to the state.

Earlier in his speech, the Country Director of UNDP in Nigeria, Pa-Lamin Beyai, said one of the major challenges confronting contemporary global and national environments is youth unemployment which effect has manifested negatively through the increasing rate of crimes, including kidnapping and insurgency in Nigeria.

In another development, Gombe State House of Assembly Speaker, Inuwa Garba, has urged the caretaker committee chairmen of the 11 local councils in the state to put more efforts on revenue generation in the state.

Garba, who made the call during the budget defence by local councils in the state at the House, also urged them to prepare budgets that are transparent and realistic which will make them perform and meet the yearnings of the people.

According to him, they must ensure that all revenue-yielding avenues in their areas are properly tapped considering the sharp drop in the federation grant to states.

Meanwhile, a group, North-East Youth Amalgamation Forum, has appealed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to zone Speakership position of the House of Representatives to the region.

In a communique issued at the end of their meeting in Gombe, one of the conveners, Yahaya Saleh, said: “We endorsed the Speakership position because it has proven to be closer to the youths. We the youths of the region will foster and bridge the gap between the ethnic nationalities. We condemned in its totality the use of fatherism in the choice of our national leaders, especially the House of Representatives. If truly we want the Buhari government to succeed and achieve its policies and programmes, we affirmatively condemned the use of religionand tribe in the choice of our leaders.”

The group, which also appealed to Muhammadu Buhari to consider the North-East geo-political region in the sharing of political offices and positions, said the region is one of the less advantaged regions in term of infrastructure and human development.

It, therefore, called on other well-meaning Nigerians to support their cause in good faith and help them foster a good working relationship with other regions for the development of the North-East, which was devastated by Boko Haram attack for years.

The Speaker, who called on the chairmen to support Governor Dankwambo in his giant transformation drive even at the face of the sharp drop in oil price, which has affected the state and local councils in their drive to meet yearnings and expectations of the people, urged them to work extra hard and pursue ideals that must conform with focus and drive of the state governor who had great policies and programmes that would take the state to greater heights and accord the people economic and social comfort.

Earlier, House Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Mohammed Dan’Azumi Adamu, who stated that local councils would face uphill task in implementation of their respective budgets due to the drop in the price of oil, he said the need for them to review their budgets may arise soon to standardise it appropriately.