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Linus Aleke, Abuja:

As part of effort to redirect the productive energy of the youths and reduce high unemployment rate in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), the councilor representing Nyanya Ward in AMAC, Hon. Yusuf Tahir in collaboration with a nonprofit organization Janet Hope Alive International Initiative have empowered 500 youths with digital skills.

In a keynote address at the occasion, the special guest of honour and incumbent Chairman, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Abdulahi Adamu Candido expressed his readiness to create 12 vocational and skill acquisition centers in the 12 wards that make up the area council as part of his administration’s strategy to reduce unemployment and economically empower youths in the area council.

The Chairman who made this revelation in Abuja during the graduation ceremony of 500 youths that benefited from the skills acquisition programme organized by the Councilor representing Nyanya Ward in AMAC in collaboration with a nonprofit organization Janet Hope Alive International Initiative to empower youths of the area, also appealed to youths in the country to deemphasize the issue of accumulation of certificates.

According to him,“This is a private initiative in collaboration with a nongovernmental organization to improve the standard of living of people of Nyanya. AMAC as a government is interested in giving the people skill and we have established three vocational centers in just four months that we have been in office and we intend to do more because skill acquisition is vital.

“We are going to build 12 vocational centers before the end of first quota of 2017 so as to equip youths in the 12 wards with modern skills, so as to reduce unemployment. I have always advised that the youths should deemphasize the usage of certificate, certificate is good but more emphasis should be placed on acquiring skills so that when certificate fails you, you will have something to do with your hands to provide for your needs without necessarily besieging the secretariat and roaming the streets in search of none existent white collar jobs opportunities. So skill acquisition is very vital and that is why I support that.”

Meanwhile, the AMAC liaison officer Hon. Stephen Ubaka commended the initiative, saying that the programme will transform the grandaunts from been job seekers to employers of labor.

On his part, Hon. Yusuf Tahir noted that “the skill acquisition programme is born out of the fact that there are many people in my ward that are unemployed and I felt that the only way to productively engage and economically empower them is to empower them with useful skills to be self-sufficient and that is why I am collaborating with Janet Hope alive international initiative to empower the good people of Nyanya ward.”