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NASENI Empowers 200 Imo Youths On Electrical Installation, Maintenance
Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, executive vice chairman/chief executive officer of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s focus on job creation and employment generation in the Renewed Hope Agenda, even as NASENI, at the weekend, empowered 200 Imo State youths in modern Electrical Installations and Maintenance.
Mr Halilu said that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government has inspired NASENI to embark on training of 200 young individuals from Imo State who benefited from the five-day comprehensive training in the special vocation of electrical installation and maintenance, which began on Monday and was concluded on Saturday 28th October, 2023.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of the NASENI Skill Acquisition Training & Youth Empowerment programme, held at the Rockview Hotel located at Okigwe, Owerri, Imo State, the EVC/CEO said NASENI took the participants through access to capacity enhancement modules in modern electrical installation and maintenance and advanced training tools like multimeter testers and cordless drilling machines, aimed at equipping them with necessary skills and knowledge to undertake electrical installation and maintenance with enhanced proficiency.
According to Halilu “in the 21st century, the significance and value of technical and vocational skills cannot be overemphasised, especially in a developing country like ours. The economic opportunities are limitless, for those who realize the value and commit themselves to learning and re-learning”
Halilu said further “More so President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government’s focus on job creation and youth development aligns perfectly with the goals of NASENI and the program. As a federal agency, he explained, NASENI remains steadfast in its commitment to realising the renewed hope agenda and opportunity for the people”.
He recalled President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 8-point Renewed Hope Agenda which identifies crucial sectors for economic development: Food Security, Poverty Alleviation, Economic Growth & Job Creation, Access to Capital & Consumer Credit, Inclusivity, Improved Security, a Fair Playing Field & Rule of Law, and Fighting Corruption.
The EVC/CEO expressed NASENI’s gratitude to President Tinubu for creating enabling agency to organise the training and capacity building program for the youths in Imo State.
He said it is through the President’s vision and dedication that NASENI, established in 1992, continues to drive the development of science, technology, engineering and innovation in Nigeria.
The Executive Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma whose State’s citizens benefited from the NASENI 5-Day training programme joined in praising the President for focusing on critical issues of job creation and youths’ empowerment especially at this time when the nation is going through a difficult economic phase.
He said “youth empowerment and giving fresh skills to citizens to cope with new trends in service delivery into their various vocations is the only measure to keep them in their jobs and make them relevant”.
The Governor said he was grateful to President Tinubu and the EVC/CEO of NASENI for considering Imo State’s citizens in the implementation of the Skill Acquisition Training and Empowerment Programme.
He said he felt fulfilled each time he was able to put smiles on the faces of the youths in the State because they are the future of the State.
He said he believed that this initiative by NASENI has the potential not only to empower the youths but to create wealth and to chat a viable economic future for the participating youths.
Imo State, he said, was the only place where NASENI has empowered about 200 youths. For other States, he said usually 100 participants were selected.
Governor Uzodinma said he was impressed that such an empowerment opportunity came during his administration of the State and under the watch of a new administration of President Tinubu.
According to him, the empowerment of youths is a priority agenda of the State, especially in innovation and digital skills to make the citizens self-reliant.
The Governor announced a cash donation of N100,000 to each of the participant, in addition to the N20,000 for transportation which was given to them by NASENI, as start off fund as they move into practicing of modern Electrical Installation and Maintenance.
The NASENI boss used the opportunity of the closing ceremony to hand over to 300 vulnerable women in the State the NASENI Save 80 Efficient Cook Stove.
On this gesture, again, the governor expressed his heartfelt appreciation to NASENI and the federal government for remembering the poor and the vulnerable women in Imo State.
On his part, Mr. Halilu appreciated the Governor for his commitment to improving the lives of the people of Imo State, and for his invaluable support for the NASENI initiative.
He said the Governor’s dedication has been instrumental in making this program a resounding success.
The 200 trainees were carefully selected from those already working in the field of Electrical Installation and Maintenance. Having completed their training, they were handed a complete set of electrical tools.
The new tools will enable them apply their newly-acquired knowledge to install electrical systems in buildings and vehicles, and to identify, rectify and mitigate electrical faults.
The EVC/CEO charged beneficiaries, to put this new expertise to diligent use. He admonished them “now that you have acquired these new skills, they belong to you, and only you can decide whether you will use them productively or not.
What is clear is that you now have in your hands the power to create economic opportunities for yourselves, and even for others. As you grow and expand in your line of work, you will be able to train, mentor and hire other people, and extend the circle of prosperity and fulfilment” he said.
“For us at NASENI, we will continue to operate in full alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision for new investments, jobs, skills, exports, and industrialisation.
“We will support him to transform Nigeria into a global hub for digital and technological innovation, powered by a competent and capable workforce,” he added.
MoMo PSB, MTN Nigeria’s fintech powerhouse, sealed a game-changing pact with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) on February 3 at its Victoria Island headquarters, unleashing digital and financial tools to turbocharge SMEs nationwide for seamless operations, revenue surges, and sustainable scaling.
MoMo PSB, SMEDAN
The partnership arms SMEDAN-registered merchants with MoMo’s multi-channel arsenal—apps, POS, USSD, partner portals, and custom platforms—to hoover payments across streams, automate payrolls, juggle tills and shop chains, and boss core business metrics from one slick dashboard.
This powerhouse duo targets Nigeria’s SME engine room, where digital chokepoints throttle growth, injecting MTN’s MoMo muscle to slash friction and unlock efficiencies for mama-put hustles to mid-tier factories alike.
Industry watchers hail the MoU as a masterstroke in President Tinubu’s economic revival playbook, fusing government SME scaffolding with private-sector fintech firepower to birth a new breed of digitally dominant entrepreneurs primed for AfCFTA conquests.
MTN Foundation and SAIL Innovation Lab have roared into Phase Two of their blockbuster Teachers Fellowship Programme, onboarding 5,000 elite educators from Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT since January 13 to turbocharge public schools with cutting-edge digital wizardry and global teaching firepower.
MTN
This mobile-first crusade, laser-focused on arming primary and secondary school titans for the digital economy showdown, kicks off with a grueling four-week virtual bootcamp via WhatsApp and Google Classroom—slashing travel barriers for even the remotest rural warriors.
Organisers promise peer-to-peer fireworks and real-time gut-checks, capping Stage One with a virtual gala saluting milestones before culling the pack to a fierce “Top 500” via engagement, assessments, and hustle for Phase Two’s inquiry-based mastery and deep-dive digital metamorphosis.
MTN Foundation’s Executive Director Odunayo Sanya lit the fuse: “Teachers are the backbone of our education system. By empowering them with digital competencies and innovative teaching methods, we are directly investing in the future of our youth.
This Fellowship Programme is designed to ensure that our educators are not just keeping pace with global best practices but are actively shaping the next generation of innovators and leaders.”
Nigeria’s heftiest private teacher uprising scales from last year’s triumphs, minting classroom commandos as state ambassadors to ignite inquiry-driven, tech-fueled learning revolutions coast-to-coast.
Onafriq Nigeria Payments Ltd, a CBN licenced payment service provider, partners with The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to pilot the continent’s first wallet-based outbound payments from Nigeria to Ghana – fully in Naira and instant, without relying on hard currency conversion, in partnership with Banks and Mobile Money Operators.
The pilot service, approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), enables cross-border intra-Africa payments for individuals, merchants, and traders.
In particular, the service will benefit SMEs, the real engine of intra-African trade; all now have access to a faster, cheaper way to reach customers and suppliers across the border.
By reducing barriers to cross-border trade, the new service will allow these businesses to grow their addressable markets and activity. From the 1st of December, this service will be fully operational for a 6-month period.
Through the partnership with PAPSS, Onafriq is supporting the operationalization of the AfCFTA (Africa Continental Free Trade Area) mandate.
The mandate itself is driving tariff-free trade for the 54 member states of AfCFTA. Within the partnership itself, Onafriq provides the mobile money rails, with an ecosystem consisting of over 1 billion mobile wallets.
Meanwhile, PAPSS brings a network of over 160 commercial banks, representing an ecosystem of more than 400 million bank accounts across its 19 African countries of operation.
The two partners are essentially seamlessly connecting two worlds: mobile money and banking. As a consequence, intra-African trade transactions will take place more easily and opportunities will be created.
Currently, Africa is made up of bank and mobile-led markets, with siloes often inhibiting transactions between these economies. However, this partnership will remove these boundaries. With over one billion mobile wallets and 500 million bank wallets across Africa, this partnership will allow for cross-border collaboration at scale.
This partnership builds on Onafriq and PAPSS’ existing partnership for payments into Ghana, announced earlier this year.
Mxolisi Msutwana, Managing Director Anglophone West Africa said, “Our work with PAPSS shows what collaboration at scale can unlock—seamless, secure connections between banking systems and mobile money ecosystems.
“This is how we open bi-directional trade corridors, reduce costs for businesses, and give African enterprises the rails they need to trade with confidence in their own currencies. The vision is continental, but it starts with practical steps like this one.”
Ositadimma Ugwu, Chief Information Officer, PAPSS, added “Too often, African businesses and individuals see borders as roadblocks instead of opportunities. With this step, we’re challenging that mindset, giving Nigerians the ability to send value next door with the same ease as sending a text message.
“Our vision is simple: make Africa’s borders invisible to payments. This pilot makes that a reality, moving us closer to a continent where payments don’t pause at the border.”
This new Nigeria-to-Ghana outbound capability builds on the successful Ghana-to-Nigeria instant payments corridor launched earlier this year – further proof that Africa’s payments future is local, instant, and inclusive.
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