Ebonyi Governor, Francis Nwifuru has called on indigenous hawkers picked from different parts of the country by the State Government to bend down, learn skills and get innovations for a better living.
According to the governor, he decided to embark on the empowerment program because he needed people that would work together with him to champion his Charter of Needs manifesto.
Nwifuru made this known on Tuesday, during the flagging off first phase of empowerment of 500 indigenes of the state who are hawking in various cities across the country at the state vocational college inside Centenary City, new government house Abakaliki the state capital.
He noted that the 500 persons after training in various skills by the state government, shall be empowered with N2million each.
Nwifuru who took time to narrate his humble beginning as a bricklayer before he became the governor, urged the people of the state to engage in meaningful ventures from where they may be promoted to higher level the way he did and became the governor.
He however charged the beneficiaries to use the opportunity to learn skills that can enhance their standard of living.
“So, it is not by force that you learn skill if you have what you are doing that is very much enormous to feed you. For those that don’t have what can put food on your table without struggle, bend down and learn the skill skills and get innovations and find a way of being very much enhanced so that at the of the day, you will not only get growth but you get development attach to it.
“It gives me a lot of courage after selecting people who can reason together with me to champion my charter of needs manifesto.
“I didn’t know I was going to enjoy the cooperation I am enjoying today, I didn’t know I, will enjoy the support of most of our leaders.
In his part, the State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Business Development, Chief Oguzor Offia- Nwali noted that the state government was targeting 1,500 people in the state for the empowerment programme.
He noted that the beneficiaries will receive their money immediately after they are through learning the skills.
“The aim is to target 1,500 Ebonyians, we will take it in batches, the 1,500 beneficiaries will get N2 million each which amounts to N3 billion.
“We are taking the first batch of 500 persons which amounts to N1billion and that is what we have done today.
“We are training for a specific period of time and before they leave the training ground their accounts will be credited.
The training will last as long as they can learn the skills. We are not forcing them to learn particular skills; they are allowed to learn the skill they want and the beneficiaries were selected from the cities we visited,” he stated.
On his part, the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Nnanna Elechi said the empowerment programme was Governor Nwifuru’s desire to liberate the indigenes of the state who are hustling in the streets of Lagos, Abuja, Onitsha, Aba, Port-Harcourt and other cities in the country.
He added that the training and empowerment programme was in line with the Charter of Needs manifesto of the present administration in the State.
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