The Nation Newspaper

Tag: unemployed youths

  • Unemployed graduates benefit from Digital Marketing Training

    About 20 unemployed graduates benefits from 8 Weeks free Digital Marketing Training facilitated by Digify Africa, Omolara Akintoye reports

    “ This is the biggest opportunity for me which will make me get my dream job,””, these were the words of Edwin Nnabude, a first class graduate of Business Administration from the Redeemers University (RUN) one of the beneficiaries of the on-going 8 weeks intensive Digital Marketing Programme.

    Mr Anthony Nwokoye, a first-class Philosophy graduate from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, said that the world had gone digital and that youths should take advantage of the digital age. “I thank God for the opportunity and DigifyPro Nigeria for this, I will make sure this transforms my life,” said Nwokoye.

    Another participant, Miss Faith Jonathan, an English Education graduate from Delta State University, also told The Nation that she would train other youths from her community on completion of the training.

    “I am from a community where digital marketing is not known, I will train other youths in my community in Delta as soon as I am through with the training. Many of my colleagues elsewhere have spent thousands of Naira to get trained,” she said.

    These were the testimonies of few out of 20 graduates from the various disciplines who commenced an eight-week digital marketing training with the aim of becoming self-reliant this week.

    The Digital Marketing training programme was facilitated by Digify Africa and supported by Facebook at Facebook NG hub, Yaba, Lagos.

    According to the Programme Director, Mrs. Florence Olumodimu, said more than 700 Nigerian both young and old applied for the training but only 20 were picked in a bid to give attention to each participant.

    Olumodimu said the programme which was designed to give trainees practical hands-on experience, would cover topics such as vocational and workplace skills, agency processes, customer care, client services and digital marketing.

    “The Programme is aimed at equipping smart Nigerian graduates between the age of 20 to 30 years old who are not currently in full-time employment with key skills to enter the digital workplace”, she said.

    Speaking further, Olumodimu pointed out that the end goal is to inject the Nigerian advertising industry with well trained DigifyPRO graduates who bring with them a new burst of energy and critical cutting-edge skills.

    “The criteria for selecting the participants is for them to have the required qualification, willingness to learn, must have a laptop, among others”, she said.

    The training she explained will consist of: Live Briefs “Live briefs are the best way to learn, it helps support weekly topics and gets our students to use the skills they are taught in each session thereby equipping them correctly for the agency environment”, she said.

    The training according to Olumodimu further said will consist of Workshops / Presentations “Agencies and clients come in and present to the team on their area of expertise. We love hearing from experts, and it’s particularly good to get the inside scoop on case studies and past campaigns.

    It’s also great to give them a sense of the diverse career opportunities that there are available when it comes to digital”, she said.

    At the end of their intensive 8 weeks training, each graduate will be placed at an agency/organisation as an intern for 3months or in a junior position. With the wide range of skills, knowledge and hands on experience gained through the programme, our graduates become great assets for any company they join.

    Digify PRO has been running in South Africa since 2014 and to date has graduated over 500 digital professionals into the South African marketing, advertising and small business industry, launching over 200 agency careers.

    “The response from industry experts and agencies has been phenomenal with agencies already accepting to take on our prospective graduates upon completion. We have also engaged various industry bodies, brands and agencies building up to programme launch, and have received endorsements for the programme from AAAN (Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria), MIPAN (Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria), ADVAN (Advertisers Association of Nigeria) and APCON (The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria)”, Florence Olumodimu said.

    Digify Africa PRO Nigeria is a digital training not-for-profit initiative delivered by Digify Africa, with support from Facebook. Digify Africa launched in South Africa in 2011 (and in Nigeria and Kenya in 2016).

    The organisation offers practical, real-world learning experiences that are delivered by young digital professionals.Digify Africa is a new pathway in education, employment and empowerment, proving that by learning and improving digital skills, one can increase their chances of becoming employed or starting their own business or freelance career in Africa.

  • NDE to train 76,300 unemployed youths in vocational skills

    NDE to train 76,300 unemployed youths in vocational skills

    THE National Directorate of Employment (NDE) will soon train 76,300 unemployed youths under the Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (B-NOAS) in vocational skills acquisition.

    The training scheme will take place simultaneously in all the 36 states, including Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Its duration ranges between two weeks and three months with effect from next month.

    The available skills, according to NDE Director General, Dr. Nasiru Mohammed Ladan, include cosmetology and other demand-driven skills peculiar to each community.

    Ladan said the target groups include: unskilled men and women who may be primary or secondary school leavers, school drop-outs and other unemployed persons, who wish to be trained in marketable skills.

    The trainees will be posted to well-established master craftsmen with standard training outlets.

    This set will join the existing 4,280 youths  presently undergoing NDE training in various vocational skills outlets in all the 36 states, including FCT Abuja, for three months.

    After recruitment and documentation, a day orientation and induction course will be conducted for prospective participants to enable them have a pre-knowledge of what the training entails and what is expected of them during the training.

    The directorate has engaged the services of proficient and experienced trainers for the successful implementation of the programme.

     

    In Ogun State, the NDE State Coordinator Femi Oyenekan, who is  representing the director general, lauded the NDE management for its efforts in reducing the menace of unemployment in Nigeria through various articulated policies designed to subdue the problem of youth unemployment.

    He said  the registration of 2000 interested youths will take place online using WEBCAM or Smartphones.

    According to him, the vocational training programme proposed to begin on December 4, will be conducted solely using informal sector master trainers.

    The trainees, Oyenekan said, will be posted to the selected master craftsmen with standard training outlets across Ogun State.

     

  • 750 unemployed youths for training

    Enugu State government has selected 750 unemployed youths for training in skills, Commissioner for Information Dr. Godwin Udeuhele said yesterday.

    He said those selected from across the 17 local governments would be trained under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Skill Acquisition Programme.

    The commissioner, who spoke in Enugu after the Executive Council meeting, said: “The Executive Council at its meeting today (yesterday), approved the enrolment of 750 unemployed youths of Enugu State into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Skill Acquisition Programme, to reduce unemployment and poverty.

    “The government will equip and give them stipend at the end of the training.

    “The programme will last between four and five months.’’

    He said the training would be in hair dressing, aluminum work, fashion designing, baking and catering, interior decoration and design, welding and iron work, among others.

  • Unemployed youths transform to job creators in Bayelsa

    Unemployed youths transform to job creators in Bayelsa

    Entrepreneurs are emerging from the unemployed population in Bayelsa State. Most of the new job creators are youths. The new generation of entrepreneurs took advantage of an opportunity provided for them by the State Employment and Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR) project.

    SEEFOR, which began in the state, last year, is a partnership project involving the Federal Government, World Bank and the European Union (EU).

    Last year, SEEFOR trained 1,200 people from various local government areas in the state and empowered them with skills and money to start businesses.

    This year, the project has already absorbed 3,000 jobless people. The project engages them in public works maintenance jobs, road maintenance, refuse disposal and other sundry jobs. SEEFOR pays each beneficiary N20, 000 monthly and mandates them to compulsorily save N5, 000 every month for a period of one year.

    Within the period, SEEFOR organises various mentorship programmes on money management and entrepreneurial skill to educate the beneficiaries on how to establish and run individual business ventures, using their compulsory savings.

    Such mentorship event was held at various centres. Beneficiaries in Ogbia, Brass and Nembe gathered at Ogbia Town; Southern Ijaw went to Amassoma; Ekeremor assembled at Ekeremor Town while Sagbama and Kolokuma/Opokuma were trained at Sagbama Town.

    The acting state Coordinator, SEEFOR, Mr. Charles Enuma, who spoke to the beneficiaries at Yenagoa centre, said the project was designed to give employment to many jobless youths. He said the programme empowered the youth by providing jobs for them and encouraging them to save part of their salaries to enable them to begin and own their own businesses.

    He said: “SEEFOR intervenes in several other areas. Other than the employment side, it engages in public financial management, building institutions and structure to ensure that government provides good financial management system. They are also involved in the training of youths in small craft.

    The SEEFOR initiative is an empowerment package for youths in Bayelsa State. Last year, we engaged 1,200 youths and this year we are engaging another 3,000 young people under the Public Works Technical Committee of SEEFOR.

    “We are empowering the youth and at the same time training them in entrepreneurial skills, savings and money management.

    “Apart from the public works committee, SEEFOR also provides funding for five technical and craft development centres for the training of youths,  provision of grants to farmers through co-operative societies, among other interventions and public financial sector institutional reforms.”

    He said though there was no technical college in the state to facilitate the activities of the project, SEEFOR took advantage of five craft development centres. He said SEEFOR provided equipment and consumables in the craft centres for proper training of the beneficiaries.

    In his remarks, the Chairman of the PWTC, SEEFOR, Bayelsa State and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science, Technology and Manpower Development, Chief Bomoyo Amachree, said the scheme was aimed at encouraging hardworking and positive youths to give them a sense of belonging.

    He urged the youth to avail themselves of the opportunities the scheme provided, saying that their hard work, dedication and attitudes would determine their altitudes.

    Amachree drew a distinction between the amnesty programme of the Federal Government and the SEEFOR project. He said while the amnesty engaged repentant gun-wielding militants, the SEEFOR came as a reward for youths who, though were jobless, remained peaceful.

    He added that SEEFOR was encouraging dignity of labour and assisting beneficiaries to learn the rudiments of financial management and entrepreneurial skills. He said the beneficiaries had a life-time opportunity to rise above their financial problems.

    One of the beneficiaries, Cynthia Titipreye, described the programme as interesting. Titipreye said through the programme, she learnt how to manage money.

    “Before now, I found it difficult to manage and save money. But after the programme, I learnt that money management is necessary for entrepreneurial success,” she said.

  • 500 youths to be recruited for sanitation in Sokoto

    500 youths to be recruited for sanitation in Sokoto

    The Sokoto State Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Muhammadu Sifawa, has said that the state government will recruit 500  for sanitation exercises.

    Sifawa said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto on Monday.

    He also said that the state government had purchased sanitation tools and protective wears.

    The commissioner said that the government had bought eight vehicles for refuse evacuation and disposal.

    According to him, this is to ensure early evacuation of refuse and improve the health of the people.

    He said that the government had also procured 30 garbage collection tricycles for waste management in densely populated areas.

    The state government, he said, had taken some proactive measures to boost environmental sanitation.

    The measures were special refuse evacuation in 17 major drains at a cost of N 4.5million and resuscitation of the monthly sanitation exercise.

    The others were introduction of cash prizes of N2.25 million to the winning zones, and certificates to youth clubs and associations in sanitation exercise.

  • Aregbesola commissions job centre for unemployed youths

    Aregbesola commissions job centre for unemployed youths

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola yesterday commissioned a job centre for unemployed youths.

    He said the centre located along Gbongan road in Osogbo, the state capital, will support job seekers in various ways.

    At the commissioning, the governor, in his speech, reiterated the commitment of his administration to reduce the menace of unemployment to a barest minimum.

    According to him, the rationale behind the establishment of the centre, tagged Osun Job Centre, was to make job seekers more employable and better placed for possible opportunities.

    He said a job seeker will be made to understand what it takes to fit into a desired job better through requisite training and comprehensive engagement of applicants on the dynamism of labour market.

    The governor, therefore, enjoined job seekers to develop their God-given skills and not to rely on academic qualifications alone to secure jobs.

    He said the centre would be committed to training of applicants on how to perfectly package their qualifications and skills as well as connect them with different job opportunities.

    Former Commissioner for Human Resources and Capacity-Building Mrs. Mobolaji Akande, who doubles as a chief consultant to government on the project, described the idea of the centre as unprecedented.

    She explained that Osun was the first state to establish such a centre, adding that the Aregbesola administration was “initiating programmes that would outlive his administration”.

     

     

     

     

  • Senator seeks data base for unemployed youths

    Senator seeks data base for unemployed youths

    Chairman Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Olugbenga Ashafa, has identified lack of data base for unemployed youths as one of the factors mitigating effective job creation initiatives.

    Speaking as a special guest during the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment’s Stakeholders/Interactive Forum at Ikorodu Local Govermment Area of Lagos State, he said the database would provide a steady feed for participants in the programme and enable the government to plan for its future and those of the youths.

    Ashafa expressed satisfaction that the Lagos State, through the ministry is building a database of unemployed youths in the state through the job and wealth creation scheme, which promises to keep them off the streets.

    While noting the obstacles young people face in becoming entrepreneurs, he commended the move by Governor Akinwumi Ambode to implement a functional wealth creation and entrepreneurship, adding that it will help solve youth unemployment.

    Ashafa said he was supporting an entrepreneurship scheme that has led to the generation of many micro and small enterprises. According to him, it is the best way to tackle unemployment and create wealth.

    Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Hon. Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, said fighting unemployment was  adopted by the ministry to support small business development initiatives.

    The ministry, he said, is set to establish a job registration centre in Ikorodu, reiterating that the ministry has launched a functional entrepreneurship programme aimed at up-skilling individuals to start and grow their businesses. Candidates for the programme, he added, would have been selected from the databases provided by the job registration centres and the various agencies.

    The ministry’s programme, according to the Commissioner, is to explore the business opportunities presented in various zones of the state and work with government and the private sector to ensure that unemployed graduates receive entrepreneurship development training and mentorship.

    Durosinmi-Etti stressed that entrepreneurship is an important vehicle for job creation. The ministry, he noted, is empowering entrepreneurs and aspiring ones with the requisite skills and knowledge to venture into businesses.

    The Commissioner noted that there are entrepreneurship opportunities for youths, urging them to harness the full entrepreneurial potential of the area.

    Hon. Jimi Benson, who represents Ikorodu Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, reiterated his determination to work with the government to address the challenges of unemployment and bring development projects to his community.

    He said he was working to ensure that his constituency is well positioned to benefit from the wealth creation initiatives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government in the state.

    The Executive Secretary, Ikorodu Local Government, Hon Wasiu Adesina, said the council was ready to support job creation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable industrial development on the continent.

    While pointing out that youth unemployment jeopardises the nation’s efforts to eradicate poverty, he stressed the need to invest in training and education of youths to industrialise, grow the private sector and achieve sustainable development.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr Fola Padonu reaffirmed  the commitment of the ministry  to enhance the  SME sector and stimulate economic opportunities for youths to promote the state’s progress towards economically enriched, socially inclusive and prosperous economy.

  • On stipend for unemployed youths

    In the build-up to this year’s general elections, the All Progressives congress (APC) promised Nigerians a lot of good things if voted into power. Obviously, these are benefits that Nigerians have not enjoyed from previous administrations. It was not surprising that Nigerians swooped on the gospel of change propagated by the party. Of particular interest is the N5,000 stipend which the party pledged to lift the 25million unemployed youths in Nigeria.

    There is also the promise of one-meal-a-day for all primary school pupils which invariably expands the frontiers of food production and bolsters the prospects of job creation in an economy faced with the crumbling impact of global oil glut and a weakened currency.

    Vice President YemiOsinbanjo recently re-instated the commitment of the APC-led administration to deliver its campaign promises by paying N5000 to the unemployed youth and vulnerable people in the country. As a matter of fact, the promise is apt, considering the bleak prospects of job creation and the rise in unemployment in the third quarter of the year. It would be an understatement to say that the unemployment rate is indeed alarming. And since the success of any nation lies in the hands of the youths, this is enough reason why this government should take youths-centric policies seriously. The N5000 stipend is a great feat that can be achieved through proper strategic planning, painstaking implementation and constant evaluation.

    We live in a country where corruption has assumed an anti-social proportion until the renewed onslaught against the scourge by President Buhari.

    The monthly allowance, set to be launched next year, means the federal government has little or no time to make effectively determine the scale and dimension of unemployment in the country. One sad truth the government must realise is that the population of unemployed youths in Nigeria is far above the projected twenty five million. Again, that’s a serious indictment on our poor statistics.

    The APC-led government must also institute measures to ensure that only the unemployed and vulnerable people benefit from this scheme. To do otherwise defeats the essence of the project.The government must equally determine how long the project would last, especially from the purview of sustainability. We have witnessed excellent initiatives blown away by the winds of time just on the score of inability to sustain them.  The government must put all hands on deck for it to effectively carry out its good intentions for the teeming unemployed youths in Nigeria.

    Going by what we have had in the past, there has been the disturbing issue of ghost workers receiving their monthly remuneration, reaping from where they have not sown. This is another issue the federal government must look into before embarking on payment of this stipend. A repeat of the ghost workers’ phenomenon prevalent in the civil service must not be allowed to rub off on this project.

    Again, the federal government must not be carried away by the excitement of this socialist scheme. There are bunch of slobs around who prefer not to work. Such persons deserve no empathy and should be technically screened out of the scheme. How the government arrives at this is a question it must urgently answer. Even the Holy Bible urge that those who refuse to work should not be accorded the grace of a meal. The benefits should be enjoyed only by those who are willing and available to when the opportunity shows up.

    Therefore we must do everything possible to remain the largest economy in Africa and still remain one of the fastest growing in the world. Any stipend spent on someone who is not ready to work is a loss to the common good of our economy. It is interesting to know that the government wants to pay attention to the plight of the unemployed.

    Finally, unemployment produces a number of negative consequences on individuals and the larger society. The anxiety, uncertainty and worry that unemployment causes can be very stressful on individual and even their families. So, unemployment carried both individual and social cost. This stipend might help to cushion the effects of these costs.

    Alhaji Aliko Dangote once cautioned that our entire society is in danger of destruction unless we pay attention to the huge segment of our young and jobless population. It is sad how students of our tertiary institutions graduate into joblessness while their parents growl in utter despair.

    It has been rightly argued that it will be absolutely difficult for government alone to provide jobs for all graduates in the country. This is more reason why the private sector must take up the gauntlet. We must support the government in its fight against unemployment.

  • On stipend for unemployed youths

    In the build-up to the 2015 general elections, the All Progressives congress (APC) promised Nigerians a lot of good things if voted into power. Obviously, these are benefits that Nigerians have not enjoyed from previous administrations. It was not surprising that Nigerians swooped on the gospel of change propagated by the party. Of particular interest is the N5,000 stipend which the party pledged to lift the 25million unemployed youths in Nigeria.

    There is also the promise of one-meal-a-day for all primary school pupils which invariably expands the frontiers of food production and bolsters the prospects of job creation in an economy faced with the crumbling impact of global oil glut and a weakened currency.

    The Vice President, Prof YemiOsinbanjo, had recently re-instated the commitment of the APC-led administration to deliver its campaign promises by paying N5000 to the unemployed youths and vulnerable people in the country. As a matter of fact, the promise is apt, considering the bleak prospects of job creation and the rise in unemployment in the third quarter of 2015. It would be an understatement to say that the unemployment rate is indeed alarming. And since the success of any nation lies in the hands of the youths, this is enough reason why this government should take youths-centric policies seriously. The N5000 stipend is a great feat that can be achieved through proper strategic planning, painstaking implementation and constant evaluation.

    We live in a country where corruption has assumed an anti-social proportion until the renewed onslaught against the scourge by President Buhari.

    The monthly allowance, set to be launched in 2016, means the federal government has little or no time to make effectively determine the scale and dimension of unemployment in the country. One sad truth the government must realise is that the population of unemployed youths in Nigeria is far above the projected twenty five million. Again, that’s a serious indictment on our poor statistics.

    The APC-led government must also institute measures to ensure that only the unemployed and vulnerable people benefit from this scheme. To do otherwise defeats the essence of the project. The government must equally determine how long the project would last, especially from the purview of sustainability. We have witnessed excellent initiatives blown away by the winds of time just on the score of inability to sustain them.  The government must put all hands on deck for it to effectively carry out its good intentions for the teeming unemployed youths in Nigeria.

    Going by what we have had in the past, there has been the disturbing issue of ghost workers receiving their monthly remuneration, reaping from where they have not sown. This is another issue the federal government must look into before embarking on payment of this stipend. A repeat of the ghost workers’ phenomenon prevalent in the civil service must not be allowed to rub off on this project.

    Again, the federal government must not be carried away by the excitement of this socialist scheme. There are bunch of slobs around who prefer not to work. Such persons deserve no empathy and should be technically screened out of the scheme. How the government arrives at this is a question it must urgently answer. Even the Holy Bible urge that those who refuse to work should not be accorded the grace of a meal. The benefits should be enjoyed only by those who are willing and available to when the opportunity shows up.

    Therefore we must do everything possible to remain the largest economy in Africa and still remain one of the fastest growing in the world. Any stipend spent on someone who is not ready to work is a loss to the common good of our economy. It is interesting to know that the government wants to pay attention to the plight of the unemployed.

    Finally, unemployment produces a number of negative consequences on individuals and the larger society. The anxiety, uncertainty and worry that unemployment causes can be very stressful on individual and even their families. So, unemployment carried both individual and social cost. This stipend might help to cushion the effects of these costs.

    Aliko Dangote once cautioned that our entire society is in danger of destruction unless we pay attention to the huge segment of our young and jobless population. It is sad how students of our tertiary institutions graduate into joblessness while their parents growl in utter despair.

    It has been rightly argued that it will be absolutely difficult for government alone to provide jobs for all graduates in the country. This is more reason why the private sector must take up the gauntlet. We must support the government in its fight against unemployment.

  • Unemployed youths sue Anyim over Centenary City project

    Unemployed youths sue Anyim over Centenary City project

    The Nigerian Unemployed Youth Vanguard (NUYV) yesterday disclosed that it has completed plans to sue the immediate-past Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, over alleged fraud in the Centenary City project.

    Though the current administration endorsed the $18.5 billion project flagged off by former President Goodluck Jonathan after much outcry, the youth group insisted that the land acquisition process was fraudulently acquired as it was against the legal provision of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).

    In a statement in Abuja, the group urged President Muhammadu Buhari to tenaciously investigate the project and determine if it was truly set up to create jobs and boost the nation’s economy.

    The group added that the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of the centenary project should be in possession of the federal government rather than the private investors as being practised in other developed nations.

    The statement signed by NUYV National Coordinator, Comrade Solomon Adodo, and National Secretary, Comrade Suleiman Musa, stated that based on the outcome of their investigations, the city project “is a grand plot to further enrich a few fiendish elements in society.”

    It reads: “Rising from our factual findings after our inquest on the thickets of controversies surrounding the Centenary City project, the Nigerian unemployed youth vanguard has resolved to sue the erstwhile SGF, Anyim Pius Anyim, and his accomplice soldiers of fortune over the convoluted fraud embedded in the centenary city project.

    “Our prime disenchantment is anchored on the fact that Anyim Pius Anyim in his privileged position as the SGF at the time misled the then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the Nigerian government and the good people of Nigeria to believe that this contraption will create jobs for the unemployed youth whereas it was a grand plot for the further enrichment of a few fiendish elements in society.”

    It stated further that “the entire landmass on which the Centenary City rests was wrongfully acquired and under false pretence, the free trade zone status issued to the Centenary City clearly contravenes the sacrosanct provisions of the NEPZA Act, the Nigerian government was hoodwinked into parting with billions of Naira used in acquiring the land for the Centenary City project, and that contrary to the global practice which stipulates that the Certificate of Occupancy of a free trade zone be in possession of the government, the promoters of the Centenary City have surreptitiously hidden the C of O of the said Centenary City since it has been marked as a free trade zone.”

    The group which expressed hope that Buhari would ensure a balanced judgment on the allegation urged him to revoke the project.

    “The Centenary City is a perfectly matching definition of corruption, fraud, exceedingly avaricious greed and all antithetical factors which our dear President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to tenaciously fight to a grinding halt. We have already written our letter to Mr. President chronicling the excessive fraud shrouded in the Centenary City project.

    “We also attached weighty evidences to buttress same. It remains our fervid belief that Mr. President will stand up to his salient promises in this moment of truth and ensure the Centenary City project is revoked from the heinous elements bent on wrecking our nation’s economy and frustrating President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive at generating employment for the Nigerian Youth,” it said.

    NUYV, which distanced itself from a group using its name to endorse the project, also vowed to drag the perpetrators of the act to court.

    The project which is 100 per cent private sector driven has generated a lot of controversy.