The Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government Council in Niger State, Hon. Aminu Yakubu Ladan, has flagged off computer training on ICT and Digital Marketing for 110 youths drawn from 11 wards of the local government.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony held at the local government secretariat complex in Minna, the council Chairman observed that one of the issues giving the council and the people of Chanchaga sleepless nights was the issue of thuggery and youth restiveness.
He said the council was trying to use the stick and carrot approach in eradicating the menace of youth restiveness by providing job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths in the local government.
The Chairman added that they wanted to engage the youth meaningfully so that they could be beneficial to themselves and society, hence the rationale behind the computer training programme sponsorship.
He disclosed that the government can no longer absorb all the teeming unemployed graduates through white collar jobs, but that they can initiate ways to empower them to be self-reliant.
He also disclosed that his administration inherited a computer centre equipped with 200 computers that was set up at the council secretariat and that the best graduates of the training programme will be engaged in the centre which will be used to generate income for the council.
The council Chairman added that the programme was in line with the present administration's youth and women empowerment agenda, adding that the programme was not political but a gesture to ensure that the youths in the local government become useful to themselves and society.
He also disabused the minds of the beneficiaries who were hoping to get a computer after the training so as to sell it off, emphasizing that the council will not buy a computer for anyone but engage the best beneficiaries of the programme and that they were ready to sponsor any of the beneficiaries who wish to go further in their area of specialization after the basic training.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Council Secretary, Ibrahim Saleh Mijinyawa, advised the beneficiaries of the programme to pay attention to the training they will receive, saying they could earn a living if they utilized the opportunity very well.
He also appreciated the consultant of the training programme for proposing the programme for the council and the council Chairman for accepting and approving the sponsorship of the programme.
Also, the consultant of the programme and Managing Director of First Masur Computer Academy, Alh. Umar Mohammed (Talban Samari) disclosed that the council Chairman has approved the training of 110 youths for a period of one month.
He said being computer literate was the main thing now as everything has gone digital, and without computer literacy, one will be left behind.
Alh. Umar, who disclosed that his computer training centre has the best brains one can think of in the digital world, said they will start the training with a week of guidance and counseling sessions before the main training and assured that the beneficiaries of the programme will have the best training in ICT and Digital Marketing.
He equally appreciated the council Chairman for sponsoring the training programme and assured him that the council would get value for every kobo spent on the programme.
In their separate goodwill messages, the former council chairman, Hon. Yusuf Inuwa Fuka (Scony), and the House Leader of the legislative council of the local government, Hon. Ashiru Mohammed, urged the beneficiaries of the training programme to use the opportunity to better their lives, as they will be the first to benefit from any benefit to be derived from the training.
They also disclosed that Chanchaga local government council, being in the state capital, had always led in terms of initiating programmes that add value to society, while others copied from them, calling on the beneficiaries to be good ambassadors of the local government area.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke with our reporter promised to make good use of the opportunity and appreciated the council Chairman, saying they would not disappoint the council. There was also a symbolic presentation of admission letters to some of the beneficiaries by the council Chairman.
The Permanent Secretary of the Niger Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mrs. Hadiza Mohammed Shiru, has called on Information Officers and Civil Servants in general to have an attitude change at work.
Mrs. Hadiza disclosed this at the opening ceremony of a two-day capacity building training organized by the ministry in collaboration with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) held at the IBB Pen House, Minna, on Tuesday.
She said that the attitude of information officers and civil servants left much to be desired, hence the need to organize frequent training on capacity building to bring about the desired changes in the civil service.
According to her, despite the economic downturn, the potential of the information officers and civil servants should be made to reach its optimum, hence the need to organize such continuous exercises.
The Permanent Secretary added that Ministries, Agencies and Departments must think outside the box to organize such events since resources are not easy to come by and assured that such capacity training will be replicated amongst the ministry's agencies.
Mrs. Hadiza said that proper training will help guide information officers in carrying out their functions, especially since social media was full of fake news capable of breaching peace.
She appreciated the facilitators for agreeing to attend the programme even at short notice and without any gratification.
In his remarks, the Head of Service (HOS), Engr. Abubakar Salisu, represented by Dr. Idris Abdullahi Legbo, the Permanent Secretary, Planning, Research, and Documentation, who declared the occasion open, said that strategic information was a basic ingredient for the nascent democracy of the country.
He urged the participants to be attentive and make the best use of the training to gain new knowledge, as he appreciated the organizers and facilitators who would train the information officers.
Also in his remarks, the Chairman of the NUJ Niger State Council, Comrade Abu Nmodu, showered encomiums on the immediate past permanent secretary of the Ministry, Hon. Ilyasu Zakari, as he promised to support the present permanent Secretary.
He urged journalists to take advantage of the training and called on other chapels to emulate the State Ministry of Information Chapel.
Other speakers at the occasion included the immediate past permanent secretary of the Ministry and Chairman Agwara Local Government, Hon. Ilyasu Zakari, Dr. Abubakar Sadiq Isah, Permanent Secretary Tertiary Education, Commissioner of Police, represented by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Wasiu Abiodun, Director Information Services, Mrs. Hassana Joan Kpetu; heads of media organizations in the state; as well as management and staff of the state ministry of information and strategy, Minna.
