Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has sponsored a six-week free skill acquisition program that has seen 793 residents receive training in skills such as tailoring, cosmetology, solar energy installations, soap making, bakery, and video editing. Each beneficiary also received N150,000 to start up their businesses in their respective areas of training.
The training was organized by the office of the Commissioner for Special Duties and Focal Person, State Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Hon. Mrs. Mabel Agbo. The commissioner revealed that the training was held simultaneously in the three senatorial districts of the state, and the beneficiaries would receive their seed money through banks.
The Enugu State Government’s skill acquisition program was designed to empower youths and women in the state to be self-reliant. The training program was targeted at improving the fortunes of the beneficiaries economically and otherwise. The beneficiaries expressed their gratitude to Governor Ugwuanyi for his magnanimity in assisting them to be self-reliant.
The Commissioner for Special Duties and Focal Person, State Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Hon. Mrs. Mabel Agbo, praised Governor Ugwuanyi for his steadfastness to the wellbeing of the youths, women, and vulnerable groups in spite of the state’s lean resources and the nation’s economic challenges.
The training program is fundamentally a joint partnership venture between the federal government and Enugu State Government. However, the federal government was unable to pay its counterpart funds, and Governor Ugwuanyi’s administration solely sponsored the training of the 793 residents of the state. According to Mrs. Agbo, Governor Ugwuanyi’s administration paid the state’s counterpart fund in 2017, waiting for the federal government to make its own payment to no avail till date.
The beneficiaries of the Enugu State Government’s skill acquisition program have vowed to utilize the startup funds and training to transform themselves positively. Mrs. Evangeline Agbo, one of the beneficiaries, stated that she did not believe the program was real until she discovered the whole gesture was real. She went on to pledge to uphold the governor’s noble gesture by becoming self-reliant.
The Enugu State Government’s skill acquisition program is one of several programs aimed at reducing youth unemployment and empowering women in the state. Governor Ugwuanyi has remained committed to ensuring the wellbeing of the people of Enugu State, even with the lean resources available to the state.