Videos: NDE DG undertakes assessment of beneficiaries in Gombe
By Chima Azubuike
The Director-General of National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Abubakar Fikpo has expressed satisfaction with some beneficiaries following their progress.
Fikpo made this disclosure in Gombe, during a media assessment tour to track some beneficiaries of the organisation’s programmes in the state.
According to Fikpo, NDE which was a 1986 establishment of Federal Government has justified it use through the impact of beneficiaries, whom are currently contributing in revenue generation, adding that they are no longer dependents but employers of labour.
Represented by Rita Inyang, Information Officer NDE press unit Abuja, Fikpo during the tour lauded its four major programmes which include; Vocational Skill Department (VSD), Small Scale Enterprise (SSCE), Rural Employment Promotion (REP) and Special Public Works (SPW), adding that thousands of youths in the state have been alleviated from poverty.
He said, “Our mandate is to create employment for the unemployed at all levels. This is what we have been doing from 1986 till date, NDE has created alot of jobs for youths and so many of our youth trainees have become master craftsmen on their own.
“The vision of NDE is to create job for all, The Directorate does not see the reason any one will stay without a skill. More youths should take advantage of opportunities provided by NDE to make themselves relevant. Our children on strike they have opportunity to learn a trade now, there is just no time they can get a trade they can go into GSM, computer repairs and tailoring these are all short term skills. They are encouraged to do this because it is said that an ideal hand is a devil’s workshop and it is the desire of the NDE that everyone is gainfully employed.”
Commenting on his observation from the tour, Fikpo added, “We know that there are some challenges we have seen, we have gotten their views. Some have raised the need for more funds to be plugged into their businesses to expand. NDE can’t do it alone, so we are appealing to our legislators to come up and partner with NDE in the area of empowerment because when they are trained without equipment they won’t be useful but when beneficiaries are trained with equipment and cash.”
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He appealed to the Federal Government to increase funding to the Directorate, following the successes recorded in reducing unemployment in the country.
Fikpo said, “NDE is a Federal Government Agency and there have been funding but we really want the funding increased so that we can do more than we had done in future.”
Also speaking, Acting State Coordinator Jediel Stephen said no fewer than 3,000 beneficiaries have been trained in the state, adding that not all trainees were settled due to paucity of funds.
Stephen said, “Many lives have improved some are even successful businessmen, farmers now. A few others have the skills without money to start the business, but for those that learnt tailoring, animal fattening are doing fine. Depending on the department, mostly we settle between 20-30 percent every year. While we link the rest to banks and other organisations, including Non-Governmental Organisations to have money to start their business in relation to what they have learnt.”
Duration of training, more funding were some of the challenges some of the beneficiaries raised. Speaking separately at the Tike market Pantami Umaru Mohammed and Sulaiman Ibrahim lauded the impact of NDE training.
“We want to appreciate NDE for the support, which has been beneficial but the N100,000 is too small to buy more animals, we need like 500,000 to expand,” Ibrahim said.
Samuel Adamu, who benefited from the Directorate’s basic business training now runs Kalayiro Ornament plant and garden along Liji-Biu highway said he has been contracted for major landscaping, as well as delivery of plants to other parts of the country.
Adamu said, “I was given the loan of 250,000 which I have finished paying, buy I must say it has helped me to standardise my business. I have alot of seedlings at the moment, due to the success recorded I have completed my house and I have some people who works with me from time to time.”
On her part, 17-year-old Mariam Hussaini, who is currently undergoing training in fashion designing said prior to the empowerment she couldn’t sew nor cut.
“I’m two months into the training and I can cut and sew materials. I wish the training which is for three months could be four or more to enable us perfect the training,” Hussaini said.
Also speaking, Yahaya Saleh who also undergoing training under the Vocational Skill Department (Tailoring), said, “We wish that the period when trainees were settled with sewing machines after training will return.”
Also, 29-year-old Suleiman Ahmed, who benefited from NDE’s N95,000 in hard landscaping, under the Special Public Works department lauded the Directorate’s intervention.
Ahmed, who operates an interlock production company said his means of livelihood had received a tremendous boost.
The team also visited recycling plant located around Federal College of Education Technical Gombe, where some beneficiaries of NDE’s training lauded the impact of the Directorate.
