The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), kickstarted a virtual training programme for 1000 youths in Yobe State.
The training programme will focus on GSM repairs, hardware and software engineering, and Entrepreneurship development will to keep them up to speed with the current technological trends and also in line with the present administration’s resolve to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, thereby creating jobs and wealth.
The training programme is taking place at five centers namely; Federal University, Gashua, Federal Polytechnic, Damaturu, Atiku Abubakar College of Legal Studies, Nguru and Federal College of Education, potiskum all in Yobe State simultaneously.
The NITDA Director General, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, while delivering his good will message stated that this programme is in fulfillment of the promise made by Mr President, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.
“You may recall that the Honorable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami upon assumption of office proactively changed the landscape of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with revolutionary policies and programmes with National Digital Economy policy and strategy for a Digital Nigeria,” he said.
Abdullahi said that National Digital Economy policies and strategies anchored on 8 pillars which includes; Digital Literacy and skills, Service infrastructure, Soft Infrastructure, Indigenous Content Development and promotion which he said the programme supports the five pillar of the National Digital Economy Plan and Strategy.
According to Mallam Abdullahi, Capacity building is one of the mandates of the Agency aimed at building and boosting the potentials of citizens across the country.
“Youths are assets to the country and also play significant role towards the drive to Digital Economy simply because innovation and technology evolves around youths which makes them to bring out the embedded potentials deposited in them,” he said.
The DG pointed out that, NITDA has been doing a lot in its drive to achieving its mandates, this he said are evident from trainings, deployment of Digital Hubs across the country, promotion of local contents, Data Protection, IT clearance among others.
“NITDA will continue to lead effort on creating an enabling environment for technology innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem”, he added.
The NITDA boss applauded the Executive Secretary of NCDMB Engr Simbi Kesiye Wabote, for his relentless effort and passion towards the development of youths across the country which at the end of the day will bring about growth and development of the nation.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr Simbi Wabote during his welcome address stated that youth empowerment is one of the key pillars for growth and development of any nation adding that “youths play pivotal role in nation building.”
“This training programme is designed to impact and boost the potentials of youths which end to end process of learning is adopted to aid them key into the trend of technology as a yard stick for job creation and revenue flow,”he emphasized.
At the end of the training programme, participants are expected to benefit from mentorship, renting and ffurnishing of shops, payment of stipends among others to enable them start their businesses without initial hiccups start ups do face.
While encouraging the participants to take full advantage of the training programme which will bring out the embedded potentials in them and also make them have a source of living, he said ICT is contributing immensely to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, adding that, “Everything is revolving around IT and we need to key into it in order to inject new ways of doing thing to the country.
Wabote applauded the Director General of NITDA for the various initiatives, programmes, policies and strategies he is putting in place towards the growth and development of the IT sector and the nation at large.
