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Tag: NEPAD

  • NEPAD group tackles youth unemployment

    NEPAD group tackles youth unemployment

    Alarmed by the high level of graduate unemployment in the country, the New Partment for African Development (NEPAD) Business Group Nigeria (NBGN) has initiated a training programme for youths tagged ‘NBGN Graduates’ Employability Improvement & Development Initiative (GEIDI).

    In a statement by  Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Chairman,NEPAD Business Group, Oluwole  Dosumu, the training is in furtherance of its objective of wealth creation for poverty alleviation.

    Unveiling the programme at a press conference in Lagos, the NBGN Chairman, Chief Chris Ezeh, explained that it was intended to equip Nigerian graduates with both technical and entrepreneurial skills “to address the observed mismatch in graduate training and those skills required in modern workplace for enhanced employability and self-reliability.”

    He added that since unemployment of youths posed a great challenge to the economy and the eventual growth of the nation, NBGN had no choice but to partner with government in assisting to find a solution to the scourge of youth unemployment and its associated vices.

    GEIDI is a six-month programme  organised in conjunction with the Nigeria Opportunities Industrialisation Centres (NOIC), Bank of Industry Limited (BOI), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), among others.

    According to Ezeh, the group has secured BOI’s assurances of making available suitable loan facilities to qualified graduates of the scheme to set up in their chosen trade and vocations while NOIC and SMEDAN would provide the vocational training and entrepreneurial development skills development respectively.

    The NEPAD boss charged other Business Membership Organisations (BMOs), the Organised Private Sector, Non-Governmental Organisations and development groups to join hands with government in reducing youth unemployment “for socio-economic growth of our dear nation”.

    The maiden edition of the scheme is scheduled to start in the first week of September with 50 trainees drawn from all over the federation. Courses being offered include Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, Computer hardware Maintenance, Hotel & Catering Management, Electrical Installation, Automotive Mechanics as well as Painting & House Decoration.

  • ‘How to reduce unemployment through NEPAD’

    ‘How to reduce unemployment through NEPAD’

    The Executive Director African Heritage Institution (AfriHeritage) has urged the Federal Government to take advantage of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development’s (NEPAD) agenda to boost employment in the country.

    Amobi, who spoke at a workshop of the agency in Abuja, which has as theme, ‘Strengthening the effectiveness of NEPAD in Nigeria: The way forward,’ said since the adoption of NEPAD by African countries, the country’s huge financial commitment has not been realsied.

    He urged the government to use the opportunity of the body’s agenda to provide jobs for the teeming unemployed youth.

    Amobi said the workshop was organised in response to the yearnings of concerned individuals and bodies from various corners of the development space for an understanding of the achievements of NEPAD in Nigeria, since it was adopted over 12 years ago.

    He said the achievements would be to utilise the outcome to change the perception about NEPAD in Nigeria, adding that the belief in many quarters is that after 12 years, the impact of NEPAD was yet to be felt in Nigeria; considering the fact that Nigeria is one of the five founding member countries of NEPAD and its highest financial contributors.

    He said: “NEPAD activities in Nigeria are virtually unknown – this is not helped by an out-dated website and the fact that up till now, there is nobody at the helm of its affairs. This workshop is expected to throw up many questions that require critical thinking and solutions or resolutions on the way forward. This will enable us assess its successes, identify the challenges and obstacles it faces, its interface in other development areas such as poverty, employment generation, the MDGs, security, and recommend ways in which the effectiveness of NEPAD in Nigeria can be further strengthened to enable it fulfil its vision and achieve its objectives, particularly in the area of infrastructure development.”

    On the role of the legislature in the agenda, Amobi called on the National Assembly to see unemployment as a great challenge that calls for pragmatic actions. He, therefore, expressed the belief that the communiqué to be issued at the workshop would provide the lawmakers the impetus for accelerated legislature to drive for the enactment of the “Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment of the NEPAD Commission and Other Related Matters.”

    Participants called on the government to revive the secretariat of NEPAD and bring it out of the civil service commission so that the benefits of the country’s financial contribution can be realised.

    They urged the government to use multiple models to reduce youths’ unemployment.

    The event was attended by participants from Africa, Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Ministries, NEPAD officers, civil society organisations, the academia and others.

  • NEPAD advocates adequate development of cassava

    NEPAD advocates adequate development of cassava

    The New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) has advocated adequate development of the cassava sub-sector in order to enhance the cassava value chain.

    Mr. Chris Ezeh, the Chairman NEPAD Business Group Nigeria (NBGN), said this on Thursday at the group’s first Cassava Investment Forum in Abuja.

    Ezeh, who was represented by Dr Nike Akande, the Vice Chairman of the group, stressed the need to boost cassava production in the country for it to become a major contributor to the economy.

    He said that the forum aimed to attract substantial private investors and promote the cassava value chain programme.

    He observed that cassava could contribute to the earnings of the country and food security, if well harnessed.

    “It’s a food security crop that can transform the economy with about 24 million tonnes of annual cassava production.’’

    He noted that NEPAD had recognised cassava as a major crop in Africa, adding that it would continue to promote the crop.

    Ezeh commended the present administration for reviving the country’s cassava sub-sector by inaugurating the 20 per cent cassava flour inclusion in bread baking.

    In his remarks, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the Chairman, NEPAD Business Group, Africa, urged the Federal Government to strengthen its partnership drive with the private sector, to develop the cassava value chain.

    Represented by Mr. Dotun Ajayi, the Executive Director, Africa Business Roundtable (ABR), he said that NEPAD had recognised cassava as a powerful crop and had since set up the Cassava Development Initiative.

    Tukur, however, said that to develop the cassava value chain, governments should provide the necessary technology, access to finance with single digit interest rate and access to domestic and international markets.

    Earlier, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdul, NEPAD’s Assistant Director (Partnership) at the Presidency, said that the Federal Government was committed to the development of the cassava value chain.

    He urged the forum to come up with a realistic and implementable programme so as to enhance wealth creation and accelerate the development of the cassava sub-sector.

    Also speaking, Mr. Ousmane Dore, the Country Director of the African Development Bank (AfDB), welcomed the initiative by NEPAD to promote the cassava value chain programme.

    Dore recalled that the bank had identified three crops — cassava, rice and sorghum — under its support for the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).

    He gave the assurance that the AfDB was committed to pursuing active partnership with other developmental partners to transform the agriculture sector.

  • Diamond Bank, Rivers hold summit

    Diamond Bank, Rivers hold summit

    Diamond Bank Plc has partnered with the Rivers State Government to host the Wealth Creation and Poverty Reduction (WCPR) summit.

    It had as theme: Developing an effective comprehensive framework for wealth creation and poverty reduction in Rivers State.

    In a statement, the bank said the event, which held in Port Harcourt, was an initiative of the state government, through the Rivers State Office of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA).

    Diamond Bank said it is committed to supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to grow businesses through capacity building, under its BusinessExpress Enterprise Series.

    The bank said it is supporting the growth of SMEs because it recognise that the future of a nation lies in the hands of entrepreneurs, so any energy expended in building up that sector cannot be wasted. It is something that is going to benefit the economy in years to come.

    ‘’The seminar is a complete package of everything a bank could provide to a small business to enable it grow. The BusinessExpress Enterprise Series is an initiative of the Diamond BusinessXpress Account (DBXA). It is a current account designed to meet the needs of MSME such as hotels, supermarkets, businessmen, professionals, travel agencies, trading outfits, schools, churches, fast food outlets, restaurants, clubs and entertainment outfits,” the statement added.

     

  • Dangote urges govt to build more ports

    Dangote urges govt to build more ports

    The President, Dangote Group, Mr Aliko Dangote, has urged the Federal Government to improve the manufacturing sector and build more seaports.

    Dangote gave the advice in Lagos, at the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Business Group Lunch.

    Dangote, represented by group’s Managing Director, Mr Joseph Makoju, decried the over-dependence on crude oil.

    He said the manufacturing sector needed to be lifted to a level where there would be competition in the production of basic needs.

    “We will only be able to enjoy the dividends of Foreign Direct Investment if Africans and Nigerians are taking the lead in the sector.

    “There is a need for the establishment of durable industrial clusters, long-term development funds, rehabilitation of major roads, rail and alternative seaports.

    “Import tariff should also be increased in the areas where we have comparative advantage, and the menace of smuggling needs to be urgently tackled,’’ he added.

     

  • NEPAD status embarrassing, says Mark

    Senate President David Mark yesterday said the non-legalisation of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) is an embarrassment to the country.

    Mark stated this as a Bill for an Act to provide for the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Commission (2013) scaled second reading in the Senate.

    He said it was embarrassing that 11 years after, NEPAD Nigeria, a body domicilled under the Presidency, is existing without an enabling law.

    The Senate President said the body is not functioning properly because it has no legal backing.

    He noted that the country was in the forefront of establishing the body but “here there is no legal backing and it is an embarrassment to us.”

    Mark said the bill, sponsored by Senator Simeon Ajibola (Kwara South), is “one bill that we should fast-track and make sure that we get it right.”

    The Senate President said if it becomes a commission, as proposed, “then we can hold it responsible if it doesn’t perform.”

    Also a Bill for an Act to establish the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun and for other related matters 2012 was read a second time.

     

  • Kwankwaso, 10 other governors get NEPAD awards

    Kwankwaso, 10 other governors get NEPAD awards

    •‘We’ve succeeded in many areas’

     

    Kano State Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso and 10 other governors have won the maiden NEPAD Business Group Nigeria (NBGN) Award on Excellence and Good Governance.

    NBGN Chairman Goddie Ibru said the awardees were chosen by six experts, who gathered and analysed information about the activities of the governors in their states.

    Kwankwaso received the award at a ceremony at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.

    Represented by his Special Adviser on Economic Affairs, Alhaji Aminu Mukhtar Danamu, the governor noted that the honour was a testimony to the commitment and transparency of his administration.

    He said his administration has achieved much in fiscal discipline, education, women empowerment and youth development, among others.

    Kwankwaso said: “In the area of education, 21 new institutes, including a university, are being established by the government in less than two years. More roads and a flyover are being constructed in Kano city and across the 44 local government areas.”

    These, the governor said, have helped to restore the people’s confidence in governance and translated into higher national as well as international recognition for the state government.

    Thanking NBGN for the award, Kwankwaso hoped it would encourage his administration to take the state to greater heights.

    NBGN Award of Excellence and Good Governance was instituted to appreciate and motivate governors to deliver dividends of democracy and accomplish the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in their states.