By
Shekara Anthony
Adamawa State Government has empowered forty five persons with working tools after training them in various vocations aimed at improving entrepreneurship development drive in the state.
The beneficiaries of the empowerment programme organized by the state ministry for Entrepreneurship Development under the Entrepreneurship Training Empowerment and Artisan Cooperative Societies Empowerment had beneficiaries from five local government areas of Hong, Mubi North, Mubi South and Gombi, which took place at Gombi local government secretariat.
While addressing the beneficiaries of the empowerment programme, governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who was represented at the occasion by the state commissioner for Entrepreneurship Development, Mr. Iliya James, urged them to use the items given to them to not only add value to themselves but also that of their communities, urging the youth to take the entrepreneurship drive seriously because the state and the country depends on them for its future economic success.
The governor said civil service will not save Nigeria, informing them that only entrepreneurs will put the country on the path of prosperity, disclosing that the state government is coming up with a lot of other empowerment programmes especially in the area of Information Communication Technology (ICT), emphasizing that the state government is taking deliberate steps to raise a generation of entrepreneurs who will be self-reliant, employers of labour, who will contribute their quota to the economic growth and development of the state and the country.
“The motivation is very clear, His Excellency, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has a drive for the empowerment of the youth, and for the youth to be drawn out from the streets, so that they will contribute their quota towards the economic activities in the state and also for them to be self-reliant”.
The commissioner who said the beneficiaries were drawn from twenty cooperative societies and twenty five entrepreneurship hubs, further disclosed that the empowerment programmes will also be extended to other local government areas of the state.
On her part, the State Coordinator, Poverty Alleviation and Wealth Creation Agency (PAWECA) , Hajia Aishatu Bello Bawa, explained that government is putting a lot of resources in place to alleviate poverty in the state, urging the beneficiaries to reciprocate the kind gesture from the governor by making good use of the working tools to achieve the desired result.
“we thank God for the life of governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, the empowerment pacesetter, who has the masses at heart. The distribution of start-up kits for the beneficiaries is for them to start up their own businesses for them to have a sustainable means of livelihood and for them to impact the society positively”.
In his welcome address, the chairman, Gombi local government area, Mallam Abdulrahman Dauda, equally appealed to the beneficiaries of the empowerment programme to put the working tools to good use so as to benefit the country and the state in particular.
“It gladdens my heart to welcome you to this great occasion of two day training and distribution of items to our people which is in tandem with His Excellency’s 11 point agenda of his government”.
Earlier, the beneficiaries of the empowerment programme were taken through series of teachings on how to be successful entrepreneurs by Professor Ibrahim Danjuma from the American University of Nigeria, Yola and Gwaltsu Joseph, another resource person.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke to Radio Nigeria Fombina News, Mr Cletus Apagu and Rahila Lawan, thanked governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, for deeming it fit to empower the people especially youth, expressing confidence that they will not fail the governor and the state, and will ensure that the working tools given to them will be judiciously used for the intended purposes as envisaged by the government.
The working tools distributed to the forty five beneficiaries include, Water Pumps, Sewing Machines, Carpentry tools, Generator and Hand Dryer for women salon, Generator and Clipper for barbing Salon among others.
