By Ezeh Anya Ezeh, Bureau Chief, South East, Nigeria
Governor of Imo State, south east, Nigeria, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has commended the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) for expanding access to technology-driven skills through the commissioning of the NASENI Skills Acquisition Centre in Owerri, describing the initiative as a strategic investment in youth empowerment and economic development.
Per a press statement e-signed by the Director of Information, New Media and Protocol at NASENI, Olusegun Ayeoyenikan, today, the Skills Acquisition Centre, established under the NASENI Sustainable Empowerment Programme (NSEP) in collaboration with the Senator representing Imo East Senatorial District, Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi, was designed to equip young Nigerians with practical, industry-relevant skills that promoted entrepreneurship, self-reliance and job creation.
Speaking at the commissioning, Governor Uzodimma said technology remained central to Nigeria’s economic prosperity and praised NASENI for supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda through impactful interventions that empowered citizens.
The Imo State Governor described the project as one that went beyond empowerment, noting that it provided young people with the practical skills needed to create sustainable livelihoods.
“This is not about giving people fish; it is about teaching them how to fish,” Governor Uzodimma said, while urging that graduates of the centre be supported with start-up capital to establish businesses and create jobs for others.
He also acknowledged NASENI’s continued contributions to development in Imo State and called on the host community and relevant stakeholders to protect the facility, describing it as a valuable public asset for future generations.
Reacting to the commissioning, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, described the project as another demonstration of the Agency’s commitment to building the human capital required to drive Nigeria’s industrial transformation.
According to him, the Skills Acquisition Centre reflected NASENI’s belief that industrialisation began with people and that investing in practical skills was essential to creating a productive and competitive economy.
His words: “The commissioning of this centre is not merely the opening of another facility. It is the opening of opportunities for young Nigerians to acquire practical skills that solve real problems, create businesses and generate employment. At NASENI, we believe our greatest investment is in the talent of our people.”
Halilu noted that the centre would offer training in high-demand areas such as solar installation and maintenance, graphic design and printing, phone repair, fisheries and aquaculture, among other vocational and technology-based disciplines, equipping participants with skills aligned to today’s economy.
He explained that the project was fully aligned with NASENI’s strategic focus on Creation, Collaboration and Commercialization, through which the Agency was strengthening innovation ecosystems, expanding local capacity and reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported technologies.
The NASENI EVC commended Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi for partnering with NASENI to deliver the project. Senator Onyewuchi said the centre was aimed at tackling youth unemployment through skills acquisition and entrepreneurship and disclosed that beneficiaries would receive support to establish small businesses upon completion of their training, enabling them to become employers of labour rather than job seekers.
The commissioning of the NASENI Skills Acquisition Centre further reinforces the Agency’s commitment, through the NASENI Sustainable Empowerment Programme (NSEP), to equipping Nigerians with practical skills, fostering innovation and building the workforce needed to accelerate the country’s industrial and economic development.
