The Chairman, Board of Directors, First Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika has advised youths in the country, particularly those in Edo State, to embrace job and wealth creation initiatives.
She gave the advice to participants at a two-day workshop organised by the Edo State Government in partnership with First Bank of Nigeria for young entrepreneurs and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the state.
Awosika said: “If youth do not see good in Nigeria, then you cannot get anything good from her. Within the same Nigeria, people are creating value from what the likes of Obaseki are putting together for youth.”
In his remarks at the forum, Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, hinted that the state government has converted the Institute for Continuing Education (ICE) in Benin to a technology innovation hub, as part of its capacity building initiatives for youths.
According to him, in a few months’ time, the state government will set-up the first technology innovation hub with thousands of computers supported with high-speed connectivity in the Institute and invite technological companies to provide support services.
The Governor said that the hub would “serve as a facility for training youths in the state. It would also be used as a centre for follow-up training for youths who are participating in similar training programmes organised by the state government in partnership with the First Bank of Nigeria.”
Obaseki explained: “The state government has decided to reposition the former Institute of Continuing Education into an advanced learning centre and an innovation hub. Work has started and, in few months, the Centre will be ready with computers and equipment for the training of our youth.”
The governor therefore advised youths in the state to register for the programme electronically, adding that a portal had been created” to provide data from which youth who will benefit from the state government’s job and wealth creation initiatives will be selected.”
On the hub’s importance to building technical skills among youths, the Governor explained: “We are trying to correct the faulty education and prepare our youth to compete favourably with youth in other parts of the world.
“We will not lament and continue to make excuses as we have drawn the line to make youth in the state productive. The next generation of children in the state will have world class basic education that will see them through life”, Obaseki added.
He promised that his administration would continue to partner with private companies such as the FBN to provide youths with requisite knowledge and skills to make them employable and become entrepreneurs.
