The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) says over 900,000 unemployed Nigerians have been trained and empowered in the last two years to enable them become self reliant and contribute their quota to national development.
Dr Nasiru Ladan-Argungu, the NDE Director General, said this on Thursday during the Empowerment/Loan Disbursement to Police Officers’ Widows in Lafia.
The NDE disbursed N10,000 each as loans to 113 police officers’ widows in Nasarawa State in commemoration of 2019 International Widows Day.
Ladan-Argungu, who was represented by Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar, the agency’s Head of Department of Procurement, said that the NDE trained and empowered over 900,000 unemployed Nigerians in the last two years to improve their standard of living.
“In less than two years, more than 900,000 persons have either be trained or empowered under our various vocational skills.
” Some of have been trained and impacted with skills, some have been impacted with agricultural skills, some have been impacted with entrepreneurship skills.
“Some have been impacted with labour skills and some are under the Graduate Attachment Programmes, among others.
“So, over 900,000 persons in less than two years have been benefited from NDE programmes.
“All of these gestures were to tackle unemployment, reduce youths and women restiveness as well as to improve on their standard of living and that of their family members,”he said
Ladan-Agungu, urged the beneficiaries of the agency’s programmes across the country to boost their standard of living, that of their family members and become employers of labour.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for giving attention to the welfare of Nigerians and called for its sustenance.
The Nasarawa State NDE Coordinator, Alhaji Dauda Idris-Wase, said 113 widows of police officers were to receive N10,000 each.
“It is not really how much is disbursed, but how well it is managed that brings good results
“Therefore, I call on the beneficiaries to develop the right attitude in the utilization of the package in order to actualize vision behind the MEES scheme,” he said.
The NDE state coordinator called for effective collaboration with NGOs and the state governments, among other bodies, to tackle unemployment and poverty in the society.
