Jubilation as Ugwuanyi empowers 750 SDGs trainees

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

FG urges other states to emulate Enugu
There was wild jubilation in Enugu yesterday as 536 trainees of the second batch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Skill Acquisition Programme instantly received alert of N100,000 each.

The money given to the trainees by the state government is to assist them start off their various businesses after attending a one-year free vocational training.

According to a statement, the 536 trainees were among the 750 participants chosen from the 17 local government areas and enrolled by the state government under its SDGs programme. It is an intervention scheme designed to alleviate the suffering of the people through learning of a vocation that would enable each of them develop a career in life.

The first batch of 214 trainees, who had graduated in tailoring, hairdressing, haircut and aluminum works apprenticeship, was empowered in September 2017, accordingly.

At the graduation ceremony in Enugu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, who was represented by her Sector Director, Yahaya Hamza, commended Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi “for being SDGs-friendly and creating enabling environment for achieving the SDGs goals”.

Orelope-Adefulire, who emphasized the importance of skills acquisition in the country for self-reliance, diversification of the economy and encouragement of the youth to embrace self-employment, thanked Ugwuanyi for the state’s contributions and untiring efforts towards the success of the programme.

She announced that approval had been granted to Enugu State for continuation of the skill acquisition programme to consolidate the success achieved by the federal and state governments through the initiative.

The presidential aide called on other states to emulate Ugwuanyi towards the realization of the SDGs goals for the overall benefit of the masses.

In his address, the governor stated that the scheme was “undoubtedly a very important and timely intervention that is helping to create wealth, reduce unemployment and stimulate productivity, especially among our youths and women.”

He added that the scheme was a welcome complement to the efforts and initiatives of his administration in the area of youth/women empowerment, skills acquisition and poverty alleviation.

Ugwuanyi expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for its continued support to the implementation of the SDGs in the state. He pledged continued cooperation and full commitment of his administration to the success of the programme as well as other collaborations between the state and Federal Government designed for the benefit and empowerment of the people.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on SDGs and Inter-Ministerial Affairs, Mabel Agbo, said: “What we are doing today does not only create employment, but helps to reduce crime and other social vices by keeping the individual meaningfully engaged in an economically productive venture.”