By Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim, Goronyo
The Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Professor Idris M. Bugaje, has described the transformational agenda of Senator Governor Uba Sani in skills development as commendable. Prof. Bugaje made this statement during a speech at the launching of three skills institutes and two other key development projects by President Bola Ahmad Tinubu in Kaduna state.
Professor Bugaje noted that the Institute of Skill Acquisition & Development at Rigachikum can address numerous challenges facing the youths of Kaduna state and Nigeria in the area of unemployment.
“Your Excellency (Governor of Kaduna state), Kaduna state, like other Nigerian states, faces significant challenges in youth unemployment and economic diversification. Vocational training and skills development are widely recognized as critical pathways to address these issues, empowering individuals with practical skills, market-ready skills for self-reliance, and gainful employment.”
Professor Bugaje said Nigeria has a very useful population with a resilient passion to turn around the economic challenges of Nigeria. He highlighted the fact that Kaduna state is the center of skills development, with Panteka Market being the largest market for skills in West Africa, and stated that the three institutes of skills will bring economic fortune to Kaduna state.
Prof. Bugaje expressed the NBTE’s full support for Governor Uba Sani’s skills initiatives, noting that with the establishment of the Kaduna state skills center in the three Senatorial Districts of the state, the state becomes the leading center of skills development, and testifying that it is the only state with a skills council.
“The NBTE wishes to assure His Excellency that we will give strong commitment to these three skills institutes spread across the Kaduna Senatorial districts. We shall do this by providing demand-driven curricula in National Occupational Standards (NOS) and qualified instructors for the institutes,” the Executive Secretary said.
Prof. Bugaje congratulated the Governor of Kaduna state on his two successful years in office and key achievements in skills development, noting that the skills center is fully equipped with equipment that cannot be matched in any Nigerian polytechnic or university.
Prof. Bugaje emphasized that Governor Uba Sani’s skills initiatives will reduce problems associated with youth juvenile delinquency and bring rapid economic development to the state.
Thursday’s trip in Kaduna state of President Bola Ahmad Tinubu commissioned the Institute of Skill Acquisition & Development at Riga Chukun, a 300-bed Specialist Hospital at Millennium Square and 100 CNG buses for intra-city commute.