In his determination to achieve a zero headcount in the poverty index in the state as he promised in his campaign , Enugu state Governor, Dr.. Peter Mbah’ on ,Wednesday, flagged-off the 1st batch of the Enugu state Sustainable Economic Empowerment Program (E-SEEP) with 200 Beneficiaries participating.
Pix: SSG, Prof Onyia
Speaking at the event held at the Enugu South Local Government secretariat.Uwani, Enugu, Governor Mbah said for a zero headcount to be achieved in the state, the state government has “to ensure that the skill set of the citizens is at the level where they are competitive and they can add value to the global market.”
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Chidiebere Onyia, Gov Mbah expressed the hope that at the end of four years of his administration, zero poverty would be achieved.
Pix: SSG,Prof Onyia
“To the participants he said, “What is going on here is not a free training. This is you becoming employers of labour. Don’t look at this like you are going to get some training and carter for yourself and your Family. This is the begining of a greater thing that you are going to contribute to the economic growth of Enugu state. For you to do that, you have to be economically viable. You are going to be trained on financial management and the things that can help you manage your resources and be able to invest in the things that are productive.”
He commended the participants for enrolling in the training program, expressing the hope that when they gather next two years, the state government will track them as the state’s first Alumni group.
pix: Prof Onyia( 3rd L) Focal,SSA SDGs,Onyinye Akubuilo- Okpalamma(m), Ugwuoke, Edeh ,others
His words, “Am hoping that when we gather, this will be our Alumni group, the first one. When we gather you people in two years and track where you have grown in your economic base. So, when His Excellency is saying that he moved people out of poverty, we will have an empirical evidence to be able to show that. So, when I see you here in two years, you are coming with a lot of employment opportunities. You will come with the people you have hired. This is the begining of a long journey but a journey that will end in productivity,” Gov Mbah said.
In their separate Goodwill messages, the Commissioner for Labour and Employment, Chika Ugwuoke and the South- East Regional Coordinator of Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) MacPherson Fred-tloegben, urged the participants to be serious in the training and make the best out of it. They assured support for the SDGs office.
Pix: Commissioner for Labour and Employment, Chika Ugwuoke
Pix: Govt team and a resource person(L)
Some equipments for the training
Earlier in her welcome address, the focal person and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals(SSGs) Onyinye Akubuilo-Okpalanma said E-SEEP is a robust program that was designed by the Enugu State Office of Sustainable Development Goals to train each of the participants in one vocational skill, entrepreneurial skill, financial literacy skill and digital marketing skill.
Pix- Focal person, SSA SDGs,Onyinye Akubuilo- Okpalamma( 1st Left)
She said the duration of the program is 6 weeks to 2 months and “participants, majority of who were selected from the state unemployment register which is domiciled with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, would also benefit from 6 months post-training business mentoring by experts in their chosen vocational field.
The focal person stressed that, Dr. Peter Mbah’s promise to empower Enugu youths through trainings on diverse skills had long commenced with several training programs taking place across the state. “E-SEEP therefore serves as another opportunity for the youths to take their own destiny in their hands and become financially independent”, Akubilo-Okpalamma said.
Pix: Dr G.O.C. Ajah, chairman, ,ENSUBEB( 2nd Right)
She hinted that following the equipping of the three SDG skills acquisition centers across the 3 senatorial zones by the state government, the SDG office now has capacity to run skills acquisition trainings in: Data Analysis, Graphics Design, Cosmetology, Baking, Food Packaging and Export, Metal Fabrication, Leatherworks, Photography and Video Editing
The focal person said the empowerment program aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which are Goal 1-No Poverty, Goal 2-Zero Hunger, Goal 5-Gender Equality,
Pix: South East Regional Coordinator, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) MacPherson Fred-tloegben
Pix: Commissioner for Works ,Gerald Otiji(R), Commissioner for Education,Prof Ndubueze Mbah’ ( m)
Pix: Some of the participants
Pix: participants
Goal 8-Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal 9 -Innovation, Industry and Infrastructure, Goal 10-Reduced Inequality.
She said batch 1 participants consist of 70% women and physically challenged persons. The program she said, is 100% free for all participants and is sponsored by the Enugu State Government . She urged the participants to make the most use of the opportunity.
She thanked the state Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah for his commitment to the realization of the 2030 global agenda. .She also thanked the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) for creating a customized financial literacy training module for the participants; the Training Manager, Industrial Training Fund, Abuja; Hajia Halima Rabo, the resource persons and the Convener, National Dialogue for Decent job creation, Eberechi Marcus for their support.
Author: Maureen Ikpeama