By Daniel Kanu
SkilluUpImo Project, the technology-driven empowerment scheme of Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma will on November 4, 2023, flag off Cohort 3, to admit 40,000 Imo youths. The venue of the event is Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.
Participants are expected to go home with empowerment tools. Cohort 1 of the project, which is under the state’s Ministry of Digital Economy and E-Governance, trained graduated, and equipped 5,000 youths, while Cohort 2 graduated 15,000.
Aside from the previous five trophies won, Imo State was also nominated as the ‘Most Digitally-Compliant State’ award due to the governor’s “excellent strides in the Information Technology industry.”
A statement by the Commissioner for Digital Economy and E-givernance, Dr. Chimezie Amadi, which was made available to Sunday Sun, noted that ‘’In July, this year, courtesy of the SkillUpImo, the governor and his Commissioner for Digital Economy and E-Governance, Dr. Chimezie Amadi, won two awards at the Titans of Tech event in Lagos; and earlier this October, the ministry won the ‘Best State MDA in ICT Human Capacity Development’.
‘’Also the commissioner bagged the ‘Distinguished GOVtech Trailblazers’ award at the inaugural edition of Nigeria Govtech Public Service Awards, organised by the Presidency through the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), with the theme, ‘Advancing Public Service Reforms Through Digital Transformation’, in Abuja.
‘’The project empowers youths with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) skillset’’.
While expecting more trophies through the project, Uzodimma said the awards were just the tip of the iceberg compared to what he would do in his second term as Imo governor.
On his part, Amadi said “The project is dear to my heart. I have resolved that my leaving the job at the federal level for this will not be in vain. I have seen the tech potential in Imo youths, and, at least, 50 percent of the talents must be developed before I am satisfied.”
Amadi added that accolades had been pouring from many public and private individuals for the governor’s feat in IT, including the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.