By PATRICK ABANG, Calabar –
In its continued drive towards the actualization of its mandate of poverty alleviation, employment generation and wealth creation, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has embarked upon the the disbursement of starter packs for the graduates of its school on wheels scheme in Cross River state.
Speaking at the flag off of the scheme at the Federal Secretariat Calabar, the Director General of the NDE, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo , said the NDE through the Vocational Skills Department Department (VSD) has embarked on this exercise to equip the graduates of the school on wheels training with Resettlement tools to enable them to start businesses of their own.
Mallam Fikp said the scheme is in line with the mandate of the NDE which is geared towards providing gainful self employment to the teeming unemployed youths of the country.
The Director General, who was represented by the Cross River State Coordinator of the NDE, Mr Udam Gabriel Ugbashi, added that the NDE has carefully selected these beneficiaries from the total number trained based on their interest on the skills sets, gender, age and both federal constituencies and Senatorial districts.
Earlier in his welcome address, the state Coordinator Mr Udam Gabriel Ugbashi informed the beneficiaries to consider themselves lucky to be selected from the total number trained and urged them put to proper use the tools handed over to them in order to enable them to also train and employ other youths.
The state coordinator, who was represented by an Assistant Director and the Head of Department of the Rural Employment Promotions Department of the NDE, Mr. Michael Ugbong, added that “having put in so much resources in the funding of the exercise by the federal government via the NDE, the beneficiaries should put in their best and make sure that the loans granted through the provision of the starter packs will be repaid after the moratorium period of 6 months”.
A beneficiary of the scheme, Mr Effiong Asuquo thanked the Federal Government for finding them worthy to be part of the exercise.
She promised on behalf of her colleagues that they will put in their best to make sure that the investment of the Federal Government in the exercise is not wasted.
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