The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki while campaigning to become the Chief Executive Officer promised among several other things to create 200,000 jobs while in office. This promise was made against the backdrop of the massive unemployment across the country.
From the day he assumed office, he began the employment scheme as he offered jobs to many men and women who were around to join him steer the ship of state.
He did not stop at that. He has, in the past two years been creating the enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the state. He has been wooing foreign investors from Europe, Americas, China, India, and across the globe and many of them have since moved into Edo State establishing businesses and employing many Edo Sons and daughters.
Beyond that, the government has taken so many other measures to actualize the target number of employment promised Edo people.If a census of those employed directly by his government and those indirectly provided by the investors that have come into Edo State, the Governor would have provided nothing less than 70,000 people with gainful jobs. When the Gelegele Port project is completed, it will provide both direct and indirect jobs to hundreds of thousands of Edo people.
But the government is obviously moving on to even surpass the 200,000 promised Edo people. Last week, the Governor Godwin Obaseki’s far-reaching effort to revamp the civil service and reposition the state for optimal service delivery threw up vacancies in the building, maintenance, emergency services and agricultural sectors in the state.
This is coming on the heels of the state government’s renewed commitment to inject new life into the State civil service in pursuance of impactful infrastructural and social development projects in the state.
The vacancies, according to a release by the Chairman, Edo State Civil Service Commission, Princess (Mrs.) EkiuwaInneh, are for engineers, surveyors, firemen, architects, veterinarians, forest officers, town planners, among others.
The is a direct affirmation of a number of policy pronouncements made by the governor in recent times, particularly the setting up of ambulance service to facilitate the work of first responders in emergencies; setting up structure for management of the state’s forest assets; establishment of livestock farms and reviving the state’s real estate and agricultural sectors.
The state governor has been keen on ensuring that professionals man key offices that would be interfacing with the private sector, which is increasingly expanding since the governor’s unrelenting expression of commitment to industrialize the state.
Nothing less than 42 vacancies in various disciplines are nowopen and applicants are to apply through the state civil service commission.
Part of the problem of growing unemployment is the fact that hundreds of thousands of graduates being churned out from the various tertiary institutions are either unemployable or lack the basic skills required for employment by the industries. Recognizing the need to made school leavers employable Governor Obaseki since coming on board has made strident efforts at empowering women, youths including girls with relevant skills. Women and youths with relevant skills have also been provided with starter packs to begin their businesses. These are running into thousands in the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.
Only last week, the State Government concluded plans to partner with the After Graduate Development Centre to train 200 youths on solar panel installation, photography and cosmetology.
The training programme, being conducted through Edojobs, is aimed at equipping the youths with in-demand vocational, business intelligence and financial literacy skills. Benefiting youths will also be mentored to apply for business funding during the programme.
The trainees are to be drawn from Edo North, South and Central senatorial districts of the state. The training will also equip the 200 participants with skills and resources to be self-reliant as trainees would be guided to access credit from the Bank of Industry (BoI). The Edo State Ministry of Science and Technology currently is recruiting new hands for its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and encouraged job seekers to get details and apply on the EdoJobs Portal.
It is important to recall that following the repatriation of Nigerians in Libya, Governor Obaseki approved the release of 150 hectares of land and N100million seed capital for some 150 Libyan returnees and victims of human trafficking.
The money and land were given to those who completed skills acquisition training at the Edo Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) office in Benin City, the Edo state capital. As at today, over 1000 Edo citizens have been returned from Libya alone to Edo State.
In March last year, his wife, Betsy, stated that plans had been concluded to empower 500 widows during the International Women’s Day celebration Mrs. Obaseki, gave the assurance during a thanksgiving service by the State Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Aisosa Amadasun at St. Joseph Catholic Church.
Betsy Obaseki confirmed that the empowerment initiative was part of her husband’s campaign promises during electioneering. In her words: “I am not surprised my husband is seeking to collaborate with the church because when we were campaigning, my husband promised to select 100 widows for the next four years, and give them monthly stipends. But I think it is better to empower the widows than to give them money. Therefore, we have developed an empowerment project for the widows by collaborating with Bank of Industry and Edo state will be lucky to be the pilot scheme”
Eventually she kicked off the project, which today is her pet project. The state government in collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BOI), commenced the disbursement of interest-free loans to two thousand (2000) women to grow their businesses in the state. This is unprecedented in the annals of the state and is quite commendable.
The Edo Women for Agriculture and Enterprise initiative has been very successful. It has recorded over 85 per cent success rate, and most of the beneficiaries have done well.
What is important going forward, is for the unemployed in Edo State to key into these various programmes. It is not good for graduates to remain at home waiting for white-collar jobs. The era seems to have fizzled out in out country of today.
Entrepreneurial development by young persons is the in-thing. The programmes of the state government would help thousands of Edo young people to not only be self-employed but become employers of labour. Therefore, it is very necessary for everyone in Edo to support the State Government in all ways possible to enable the employment and empowerment schemes to be a huge success.
___________________
Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Edo State.
