In line with its capacity building mandate, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has been spreading its tentacles across the country. The latest beneficiaries of its ICT skills acquisition and empowerment programme were one hundrd and fifty females drawn from the northeastern states of Gombe, Bauchi, Taraba, Yobe and Adamawa. The week long intensive training came to a close on Friday 18th January 2019 at the Gombe State University ICT centre.
A statement, by NITDA spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman, said NITDA Director-General, Dr Isa Panatami addressed the participants at the closing ceremony, via a pre-recorded video message. He urged participants to maintain the continuity of knowledge gained by training a minimum of ten women each in their communities.
“I will like to encourage all our beneficiaries to spread the knowledge of IT they have acquired by virtue of this workshop by training a minimum of five to ten women in their localities. By this gesture, the capacity building drive of the Agency would have a far reaching impact on the society”, Pantami said.
He reiterated the Agency’s commitment to its strategic roadmap document emphasizing that the training had fulfilled in one fell swoop, capacity building, local content development and promotion, digital inclusion and digital job creation.
In his address, Gombe State governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, who was represented by the commissioner for higher education, Dr Isa Mohammed Wade, expressed his gratitude to NITDA for its unalloyed support to the development of ICT in the state and indeed, the federation. He emphasized that “our partnership with NITDA is an excellent one and we will continue to do our best in every way NITDA expects us to and be assured that we will rise up to the occasion whenever called upon”. He advised the trainees to ensure that they make judicious use of the skills they have learnt and to pass on knowledge in order for growth and development to thrive at a faster pace.
Governor Mohammadu Bindow of Adamawa state who was represented by the commissioner of Information and Strategy Alhaji Ahmad Sajo described beneficiaries as “highly fortunate because this empowerment programme has placed you on a different pedestal as it makes you self sufficient and an employer of labour as against an unemployed Nigerian. NITDA’s intervention in ICT in the Northeastern region is a welcome development which we are proud of and grateful for”. He emphasized.
Also speaking on behalf of Gombe State traditional and chieftancy council, Emir of Deba, Alhaji Ahmad Usman expressed the gratitude of the council to Pantami for his commitment to digital inclusion. He also enjoined the women to maximize the opportunity as “educating a woman, is educating a nation”.
The highlight of the closing ceremony was the distribution of laptop computers, provision of internet access and a stipend of Ten Thousand Naira to each participant of the programme. The Agency also made adequate provision for feeding and accommodation for all participants throughout the duration of the exercise.
NITDA is also running similar trainings in the Southwestern and North Central zones of the country concurrently and plans are already underway to run similar programmes in all zones in the country.
