Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has lauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as well as the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) for initiating the Skill Up Artisans (SUPA) Programmes aimed at impacting necessary skills on Nigerian youth towards gainful employment and self-reliance.

Governor Sule gave the commendation during the groundbreaking ceremony for the constryction of the area office of the ITF in Lafia on Thursday.

Being a technical person who had first hand experience of the power of technical skills to transform lives, having used his skills acquired from Government Technical College Bukuru, Plateau State, to support and finance his education at the United States, the governor said he was moved beyond measure by the concept underlining the SUPA.

He said after the meeting with President Tinubu during the last council of state, he was further gingered by the SUPA programme.

“After having our meeting on Tuesday, I became more charged about SUPA. Being a technical person myself, a technical person that actually went to a technical school. You can have engineers now that went through secondary school and acquired engineering degrees, with all due respect.

“But when you have sufferheads like us that went to a technical school first and vocational school and acquired the practical knowledge from there, even our performance at the university is completely different. Because they are teaching you the theory, you apply the theory to the practice that you already know. That is why then at the Technical School Bukuru when you are graduating you will have so many institutions coming to employ you.

“Few people agreed to go to the university because as we were graduating I had employment from about five different institutions. PAN in Kaduna did everything possible to employ me. The textile gave me an offer. Kuda Nails gave me an offer. Kaduna Polytechnic gave me an offer and then Plateau Electricity gave me an offer.

“And I took up the Plateau State Electricity Corporation so that I could be close to where I could be pursuing my scholarship to go to America and go to the university because I wanted to go to the university. Because of that technical skill, it gave us the opportunity such that scholarship or no scholarship we could go and work and make your $3.75 per hour, work 40 hours a week at $173 to $180 a month including overtime. That was sufficient to keep you going in school. That is what skills do for you,” he recounted.

He pointed out that his technical background informed the policy thrust of his administration to establish technical and vocational schools in the state, including the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute.

The governor therefore urged the youths especially graduates to take advantage of the various technical skills acquisition programmes at the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute, as well as the new SUPA Federal Government initiatives to acquire life sustaining vocational training.

He added that the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute Lafia, is meant to also train technicians and professionals that would be employed in the oil industry that is emerging in the state, especially with the ongoing drilling of oil in Obi Local Government Area.

“The technical institute was not meant to be what it is there. But we believe that we should have one like that in line with the opportunities that exist in Nasarawa State and indeed Nigeria. Nasarawa State is a state with verse potentials in minerals and agriculture. Recently, because of the successes we are seeing in the area of minerals, even the people of Nasarawa State are beginning to forget that we are also a state with a huge discovery of hydrocarbons and we are also going to be an oil producing state.

“In reality, there is no better time to have an institution like this than now in Nasarawa State than now. We thank you for bringing it to Nasarawa State,” he added.

Governor Sule equally appreciated the ITF and the National Employers Consultative Assembly (NECA) for supporting the programmes at the technical institute, further appreciating the ITF for allowing Dr. Asele Ewuga to superintend the takeoff of the institution which has so far graduated over 8000 trainees.

“I want to congratulate you for this leadership and enthusiasm and for this drive in line with Mr President’s renewed hope agenda. Because if you are looking for somebody who is charged and convinced that things are going to change in Nigeria, just sit down with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and you will see the conviction in his face that Nigeria is changing and he is doing the change. Thank you for taking that direction and doing everything,” he added.

In his remarks during the groundbreaking, Director General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Afiz Oluwatoyin, appreciated the Nasarawa State Government for donating free of charge the four hectares of land that will house the Lafia Area Office of the fund.

The ITF DG said that singular gesture has not only strengthened the existing relationship between the ITF and the Nasarawa State Government but also further reinforced Governor Sule’s reputation as one dedicated to development of the citizens of the state through enhanced skills acquisition.

The DG recalled that In 2022, the state government under the present administration entered into partnership with ITF for the training of instructors for the vocational and skills acquisition institute in the state, as well as enlisting the institute as part of the participating organizations under the ITF/NECA technical development programme TSDP.

“This event marks another threshold in our relationship and an expression of the commitment of the ITF to open up access the fund’s programmes and activities which the citizens of Nasarawa State have severally benefited from,” Oluwatoyin said.

The DG said when completed, the building will provide modern office accommodation, training rooms, vocational wings for skills training in various fields and administrative blocks.

He pointed out that the facility will accelerate impartation of technical and vocational education training (TVET) as well as address service delivery challenges through Skill Up Artisans (SUPA) Programmes which has three exit points.

The DG further revealed that the Federal Government of Nigeria has initiated viable intervention programmes amongst which is the Skill-Up Artisans Programme (SUPA).

“SUPA is a transformative initiative of the Federal Government under the Industrial Training Fund aimed at registering, up-skilling, licensing and empowering Nigerians artisans for local and international job opportunities,” the ITF boss said.

He explained that unlike previous similar interventions, under the SUPA programme, the ITF will provide business opportunities for trainees under the SMEs, export talent to other countries and collaborate with the NECA to secure gainful employment locally for youths.

“The benefits of this project to the people of Nasarawa State, the ITF and Nigeria are many and would accelerate the impartation of technical and vocational education as well as address service delivery challenges,” he stated.