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From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Community Engagement, South East, Mrs. Chioma Nweze, has said that infrastructure is rising across the South East geopolitical zone under the present administration.
She stated this in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital, during the graduation and empowerment ceremony of pioneer trainees of the skill-up South East programme.
Ninety-five youths benefited from the empowerment programme and the beneficiaries were selected from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.
She listed the projects executed in South East by the Tinubu administration to include; Enugu/Abakaliki Expressway, Abakaliki/Afikpo, Trans Sahara, Onitsha to Owerri, Ndibe Beach Flyover, Oferekpe Flyover, Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, 56.10-kilometre Umuahia-Aba section, among others.
Nweze said Tinubu’s commitment is not only in roads but also in human capital. She revealed that Renewed Hope Skills Centres are being proposed for Abia and Anambra to serve artisans and apprentices.
She said that under Nelfund, ₦45.6 billion in student loans have already reached South East students, with another ₦50 billion to be released, adding that in health, agriculture, and other indices of the economy, he is making inroads surely and steadily.
“Few months ago, 95 young men and women walked into this vocational centre with empty hands, but hungry hearts. They came from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo — one from each LGA of our great region. Some of them had never touched a sewing or an embroidery machine.
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“Today, they leave as tailors, fashion designers, and become entrepreneurs. Today, they leave with skill, with dignity, and with tools. This is what we mean by Skill-Up South East Agenda.
“The programme gave them more than training. It gave them financial literacy, because skill without business sense is poverty in fine clothes. And, today, each of our fashion designers will go home with a brand-new sewing machine and start up funds to start immediately.
“Why tailoring? Why crafts? Why POP? Why screed? Because the South East is the land of enterprise. Ndi Igbo are makers. We build. We create. We trade.
“Through this programme, we are raising a generation of skilled, confident, and self-sufficient young people who will not only create wealth for themselves, but, also, contribute meaningfully to the economy of our region. Their thread will clothe our children. Their handwork will put food on the table. Their hands will build Alaigbo.
“This milestone aligns perfectly with President Tinubu’s vision for the South East. Mr. President has said repeatedly that he is committed to the development of our region, to inclusive growth, and equitable distribution of resources. He is matching those words with action.
“Under his leadership, we have seen the Federal Government approve the ₦150 billion South East Investment Company, under the South East Development Commission, to fast-track industrialisation. The Eastern Rail Line connecting Aba, Onitsha, Enugu, and Nsukka is under federal focus to unlock over ₦50 billion annual trade.
“Infrastructure is rising across our land. The Enugu/Abakaliki Expressway, Abakaliki/Afikpo, Trans Sahara, Onitsha to Owerri, Ndibe Beach Flyover, Oferekpe Flyover, the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway and the 56.10-kilometre Umuahia-Aba section are being reconstructed, to mention just a few (since the Professor of Infrastructure is here). When roads work, business works. When business works, we work.
“Mr. President’s commitment is not only on roads. It is also in human capital. The Renewed Hope Skills Centres are being proposed for Abia and Anambra to serve artisans and apprentices. Under Nelfund, ₦45.6 billion in student loans have already reached South East students, with another ₦50 billion to be released. In health, in agriculture, and in other indices of the economy, he is making inroads surely and steadily”, Nweze said.
