Otunba Niyi Adebayo,
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, said the federal government is working hard to end unemployment through Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the Economic Sustainability Plan.
He commended the Industrial Training Fund ITF for not relenting in the efforts to effectively discharge their mandate as the Fund continues to equip the youths with requisite skills and trainings that can take the country out of poverty.
Speaking in Jos on Thursday, at the 2020 Industrial Training Fund, ITF Merit awards ceremony at the Fund’s corporate headquarters, Otunba Adebayo stated ITF has been in the forefront as it has become a dependable ally of the Federal Government by the implementation of several skills intervention programmes that have trained over 500,000 since the Director-General, Sir Joseph N. Ari, assumed office in 2016.
According to him, “It is for this reason and in appreciation of its contributions to National growth, that the Council for the Development of the Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), headed by His Excellency, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, rewarded the ITF with the prestigious Award of Excellence as Outstanding MSMEs Clinic Star Partner and the Award for outstanding contribution to the development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria respectively.
“It was also for contributions that it was made a member of the MSMEs Council, which is headed by the Vice President and member of the MSMEs Survival Fund under the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan.
“It is equally noteworthy that the ITF has been mentioned and identified by the Presidency as the foremost Agency of Government at the forefront of Federal Governments Job and wealth creation policy. The Fund was among the few Agencies requested by the Federal Government to forward submissions on the best approach to lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.”
Represented by a Director in the Ministry, Samuel Alabi, he urged the ITF Management not to relent in empowering Nigerians with technical skills, but to train more Nigerians and by so doing, write the name of the ITF in gold.
He called on States Governments, Non-Governmental Organisations, Faith-Based Organisations and other well-meaning Nigerians to collaborate with the ITF to tackle the challenges of poverty and unemployment that is bedevilling the nation.
In his address, the Director General of the Fund, Sir Joseph Ari said ITF was among the few Agencies requested by the Federal Government to forward submissions on lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
“If the proposal, which is currently receiving the attention of the authorities is assented to, the ITF will train over 7million Nigerians in the Agriculture, Construction and Facility Maintenance, Information and Communication Technology, Manufacturing and Services sectors between 2021 and 2031,” he stated.
He added that the Fund has declared the year 2021 “Skills Escalation for Prosperity,” and has commenced processes for the implementation of more skills intervention programmes.
Ari maintained, “The Programmes earmarked for implementation are the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), the Construction Skills Empowerment Programme (CONSEP), the Skills Training and Empowerment Programme for the Physically Challenged (STEPP-C), the Passion to Profession Programme (P2PP), and the Agri-Preneurship Training Programme (ATP)”
The State Governor, Simon Lalong who was represented by the Secretary to the Stat Government, Professor Danladi Atu promised continuous support to the ITF to make it deliver on its mandate to the people.
