KGSG to site Vocational Institutions in all State LGAs
Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello says his administration would ensure that all Local Government Areas in the state each get Vocational Institution to teach the citizens skill based vocations and address unemployment .
This measure, the Governor said, is part of his administrations efforts not to only tackle unemployment, youth restiveness, but also serve as a measure for ease of learning and poverty alleviation.
He made this pronouncement on Tuesday in Lokoja at the main campus of Kogi State Polytechnic on the occasion of graduation and matriculation of students of Nigeria Korea Friendship Institute of Vocational and Advanced Technology.
The Governor who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Hon Edward Onoja noted that the key priority areas of this government considers education first in view of the critical role plays in addressing other areas of development, saying that he is ready to consolidate on his administration's records in that regard.
The Governor, who mentioned other areas of his governments attention for the overall development of the state to include health, job creation through agriculture, tourism, skilled Service Provision; Rural and Urban Infrastructure and civil service reforms, expressed gratitude to the Korean Government for partnering the state in the sighting of the institution.
He said the essence of education is to teach the young ones skills that would equip them for future challenges, hence the unrivaled attention he has given to the sector.
Governor Bello added that it was this commitment that has taken the state away from past practice where students stay away long periods from school as a result of incessant strike actions, and assured of his committed towards ensuring the institutions remained open rather than being shut down.
He called the institute's graduands to work out partnership and synergy among themselves to ensure their future progress, noting that trust and networking were key ingredients that would develop them further as service providers.
The Governor, who said he understood what it meant to be an entrepreneur, being one himself, stressed that character and integrity which are determined by how efficient and effective they were at service delivery, were key to keeping them in business.
“Do not promise a client you would deliver within period you dont have the capacity to, it would erode confidence and reduce patronage. Start small, because, again as an entrepreneur, I know what that feels like to start from the bottom. So, start small and then grow with character, integrity, efficiency and effectiveness of service to reach that mega entity of your dream,” he emphasised.
He advised the matriculating students to connect and build bridges across religious, class and ethnic divides as he is doing in Kogi State, adding that there was need for them to also focus on their education and avoid every form of distractions.
Principal of the institution, Okewu Arome Gabriel had earlier given short historical background to the institution, saying it was established in 2010 in partnership with the government of Korea with the purpose of giving practical training, honing technical expertise, ensuring self reliance and providing opportunity for winning scholarships – both from Korean and other governments to deserving students.
He called on parents and wards to avail themselves the opportunities the institute provides by enrolling themselves as it was the perfect platform for addressing the problem of unemployment among citizens of the state and the country at large.
Other speakers at the event also lauded the role of vocational education in addressing the problem of youth restiveness and unemployment in the country.
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