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As Uzodimma empowers 5,000 youths in Imo
From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Minister of communications and Digital Economy, professor, Isa Pantami has challenged Nigerian leaders to avail themselves of the opportunities of digital revolution to tackle the unemployment situation in the country especially among the youths.
The minister stated this on Wednesday in Owerri, the Imo State capital as a guest to the graduation ceremony of the first batch of the students of the Skill Up Imo project.
While commending governor Hope Uzodimma for his initiative of the program, he noted that it will provide skills on employment for the youths at the National and International levels,create potential job employers instead of job employees pointing out that “today’s world economy is driven by digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship”.
He said “Nigerian leaders should think out of the box on how to solve the problem unemployment tnrough the digital economy,the world economy is no more based on natural resources ,rather on digital technology initiatives”.
He also added “the training is a foundation for the youths to base their life expectations and not the end of the journey to their successes in life,the youths must have passion for invention, customers intercity and long time thinking.”
Uzodimma at the ceremony empowered the 5,000 graduands with various start -up kits, with 2,500 of them going home with a laptops and other necessary tool needed in the course of advancement of their career.
However,in his speech,he noted that the new world order is about digital economy, just as digital literacy, he insists, is the real literacy.
Addressing the granduands and their invited guests, the Governor congratulated them for accepting the programme and for showing determination to participate in it which he said “has snowballed in the graduation of the first batch of 5,000 out of the proposed 300,000 youths.”
He explained that the Skill-Up Imo Project represents three things; Technology, Opportunity and the People.
According to the governor,”When many of the youths must have acquired skills and being employed it will bring an end to the activities of banditry, and unknown gunmen and in fact, other social vices in Imo State and Nigeria in general.”
In his welcome address, the Commissioner for Digital Economy and E-Government, Dr. Chimezie Amadi thanked the Governor for the Skill-Up initiative, insisting that the graduation of 5,000 participants was the brain child of Governor Uzodimma whom, he said, encouraged his Ministry to take responsibility and implement the project.
Amadi explained that the programme is a subset of Imo Economic Agenda (2022-2026) which has the target of Up-Skilling Imo youths by providing free training and support to 300,000 of them in new innovation that would equip them to be productively employed or self-employed.
The Commissioner informed that the project draws its inspiration from the National Digital Economy and that “Imo is the first State in the Federation to draw from it which is aimed at reducing youth unemployment.”
