NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/Lafia
Ahead of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s visit to Nasarawa State, the agenda for the one-day State event has been revealed. From attending a graduation ceremony to distributing palliative items to victims of natural disasters, Senator Shettima is billed to showcase the transformative initiatives of Governor Abdullahi Sule’s administration in the State.
The schedule of the Vice President was made known at a joint press briefing by Princess Margaret Elayo, commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Non-Governmental Organisations, Mohammed Iyimoga Oyigye, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs who oversees the Ministry of Agriculture, Daniel Ewuga Asele, Executive Director, Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational Centre and Ibrahim Abdullahi, Managing Director of Nasarawa State Investment and Development Agency, NASIDA and moderated by Ibrahim Addra, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Sule, in Lafia, on Thursday.
On VP Shettima’s activities at the Vocation Centre, Dr Daniel Ewuga Asele said he would present certificates to the graduates as well as inspect the output accomplished by the students. “One thousand, one hundred and forty-eight graduates were trained in the year 2024 in the fourth quarter of 2024 and they were trained in 40 contemporary and marketable skills that are highly sought in the labour market today. And by the grace of God, all will graduate, with the tests that we have administered, coupled with the fact that they were found worthy and in learning, tomorrow, His Excellency will award them certificates and then he will move to see the final projects made by these graduands.”.
Giving a breakdown of the aggregation of that number of trainees, Asele noted that the technology Institute which was established just two years ago is a force to reckon with in the nation. He said the current set of graduating students was produced in partnership with the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah, the First Lady of Nasarawa State, Hajia Selifat Sule, two individuals based in Edo and Oyo State, Wives of Members of the State House of Assembly, the State government and nearly two hundred others who were self-sponsored from within and outside the State.
On her part, Princess Elayo explained that 1845 victims of the flood will benefit from various items that the Vice President will hand out to victims of last year’s flood disaster. These items, she noted, range from food items to bedding, building tools and other material that can aid them to begin life anew. She said some of the victims had received some assistance given by the State government while data was being collected to ascertain the extent of the damage and the number of those affected. She pointed out the State has, through the instrumentality of the ecological funds, repaired the road which was destroyed by the flood and some level of livelihood restored for the victims, through outreach programmes of the State government. She expressed hope that with the package gathered to support this segment that had been made vulnerable by flood, “We will have a good time with the Vice President tomorrow.”
During the visit, the Vice President will hand over some units of tractors to the officials of the 13 local government areas in the State. This, according to Oyimoga Oyigye, is to enable them to key into the food security initiative of the Bola Tinubu administration. He said the plan is for the councils to also own and manage farms to complement the 10,000 hectares cultivated by the State government.
On his part, the boss of NASIDA said the Vice President will perform the ground-breaking for the construction of the Agency’s headquarters building. This building, he said, will be a “One-stop investment hub” for everything that will drive investment in the State. Part of this, he said, will include the headquarters of the agency, and arbitration offices, among others.
Pix; Officials of Nasarawa State government at the briefing on Thursday.