Developing Skilled Manpower is my Administration’s Priority – Governor Obiano

Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano has said that the developing of skilled manpower is a priority for his administration to ensure availability of skilled work-force that will support and service the state's area of needs in the labour market. The governor spoke Saturday at an interactive session with the Catholic Women Organization (CWO), Onitsha Archdiocese held at Bethany House, Onitsha.

Governor Obiano who attended the CWO event with his wife Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano, explained that the reason behind the inauguration of the State Youth Skills and Empowerment Scheme is not just to ensure that the youths are empowered to be self-reliant but to make sure that there is ready labour for hire by the industries and services springing up as off-shoots of his government's 4-Pillars of economic development in the area of Agriculture, Oil and Gas, Trade and Commerce, and Industrialization as well as the Enablers.

According to him, ''Getting our youths engaged is one of the best ways to fight crime and ensure sustainability of the security we now have in Anambra. However, we must know that the companies who are presently setting up in the area of Oil & Gas, the Umueri Cargo Airport etc. will need workers and the job has to be done by our young ones and that is why we have to get them ready.”

The governor noted that training centres like the Technology Incubation Centre Nnewi are already training five hundred youths under the first phase of the programme while the training in various fields will be replicated across three Senatorial zones of the state. “On the other hand we are committed to our support for the mission schools and hospitals and that is why we recently gave them various sums to sustain the good work. We are also giving special attention to teachers in the rural areas and those teaching special subjects with a view to encouraging the achievement of excellence at all levels,” he further explained.

Obiano who went down memory lane to tell the CWO that his father was a Headmaster of Holy trinity Primary school, and a Catechist; and that he attended his primary school years ago in the vicinity of Bethany House, also stated, “I came here with my wife to felicitate with you and to thank you for your support and prayers but I must say that I am impressed and grateful for all your observations about the programmes of my administration. As you all know, our people have suffered years of extreme neglect and that is why we are working hard to improve the fortunes of our people and also take Anambra to the next level. I therefore urge you to extend the support to all APGA candidates to make sure we elect people that will work for the progress of the state.” The governor later donated two buses for transportation of the members and also donated the sum of N10 million to the CWO Youth Centre to boost their fundraising efforts.

In her own remarks, wife of the governor Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano, commended the CWO for their dedication and turning out en mass to receive and host her and the governor. She urged the women to remain steadfast in their prayers for the governor and the state so that God would continue to bless the work of their hands.

Mrs. Obiano also told the women that she set up the Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ), a non-profit, non-partisan pet project which has a mandate to care for the less privileged and reduce women-child vulnerability while maintaining the dignity of the physically challenged amongst other programmes to support her husband's administration. She explained thatsince coming on stream, CAFÉ had done a lot to mobilize and give support and succour to indigent families as well as the physically challenged. Said she, “For instance we started with water borehole at Basden Memorial Special Education Centre at Isulo, in Orumba South where the pupils and students were suffering from neglect before we intervened, and also undertook a comprehensive rehabilitation of the school and today they now have a secondary school.”

Mrs. Obiano disclosed that in furtherance of the activities of the administration in the area of skills acquisition, CAFÉ is teaching skills in Soap making, Hair dressing, Tailoring and other vocational skills to women. She equally called on the CWO to support the governor by ensuring that all APGA candidates are elected in all positions during the coming elections.

Earlier, Director of CWO Onitsha Archdiocese, Lady Beatrice Madike, told governor Obiano and his wife that their visit and engagement with the CWO is the first of its kind because “it is the first time a serving governor and his wife had honoured them by visiting together.” She thanked the governor for appointing their member Prof. Kate Omenugha and Dr. (Mrs.) Victoria Chikwelu into his cabinet as Commissioners for Education and Women Affairs respectively.

Lady Madike, told the governor that the CWO Onitsha embarked on regular spiritual retreat and training workshops for the over 1.5million members, who are also kept abreast of the unique role of mothers in the society. She told the governor that the CWO are currently raising funds to build a Youth Village at the College of Education Nsugbe, and commended Obiano for his forthrightness and open administration which has ensured that peace and security is reigning in Anambra.

The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Omenugha, thanked the governor for choosing her and the Commissioner for Women Affairs from the organization to serve Ndi Anambra and commended his passion and dedication to serving the people of the state.