Former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, has commended current President Muhammadu Buhari for prioritizing economic self-reliance and directing the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to train 100 Bayelsa youths in modern electrical installation and maintenance.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training programme in Otuoke, Bayelsa, Jonathan emphasized the importance of investment in agencies like NASENI and other research and technology institutions for economic transformation in Nigeria.
According to him, the absence of a culture of science and technology has contributed to Nigeria’s underdevelopment.
He urged participants to use the starter packs and equipment given to them to modernize their businesses and pursue economic development for self-reliance rather than selling them.
Nonyem Onyechi, the overseeing officer of NASENI’s Office of the Executive Vice Chairman, expressed gratitude to Jonathan for his support for the agency while in office, leading to its return from the Ministry’s bureaucracy.
She stated that the training was in line with new trends in the world as it moves towards the fourth industrial revolution and the development of cutting-edge technology that requires upgrading skills to remain relevant and create jobs.
She explained that the skills required for electrical installations, repairs, and maintenance are no longer limited to meter conduiting, piping, or trunking of cable channels and streaming overhead conductors alone, but have extended beyond the supply of illumination and plug outlets.
The Chairman of the occasion, Simbi Kesiye Wabote, commended NASENI for reviving the critical attention needed for the development of vocational and skills upgrades of Bayelsa youths geared towards self-reliance and employment generation.
He added that skills development and training are solutions to removing youths from the streets and giving them hope for self-reliance since white-collar jobs are no longer available.
AGS NEWS 