ODU – Sixty one rural women graduated from the information and technology skills acquisition programme organised by the Kogi government at Dekina Local Government Area in its drive to bring ICT closer to the rural dwellers.
The governor’s wife presented certificates to the 61 women and empowered 10 outstanding trainees with laptops at the maiden graduation ceremony of ICT Women Empowerment Programme on Wednesday.
Gov. Idris Wada in a speech at the occasion said the ICT skills acquisition programmes organised by the state government were meant to encourage women to acquire ICT skills for computer literacy and empower them to explore opportunities for self employment.
Represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Idris Omede, the governor enjoined the people of the area and the graduates to use the opportunity to develop themselves and ensure that the ICT facilities at the centre were used without being vandalised.
Wada said that the present administration under his leadership was interested in seeing that the workforce of the state gave the best in service delivery to the people, hence the need to develop human capacity and encourage the people to use ICT across the state.
In her remarks, the wife of the governor, Hajia Halima Wada said active participation in the programme was the only requirement to reap the full dividend of the project and to prepare the women for the digital age.
She called on the people of the area to avail themselves of the opportunity provided to register for the training, adding that the programme was a continuous exercise.
She congratulated the beneficiaries, saying that she was optimistic that the training would help them brace up for the challenges of the future by being self reliant and to be employers of labour.
The governor’s wife commended the present administration for its laudable achievements and for establishing the Odu rural information technology centre, which she said was yielding the desired results.
The Commissioner for Science and Technology, Hon. Usman Abdulmumuni, in his remark said the purpose of the ICT centre was to teach the people in the area new skills and ensure they were computer literate.
He commended the state government for establishing six ICT laboratories in six science schools.
The commissioner appealed to the governor to set up more ICT laboratories in other schools.
Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, Hon. Florence Falade said the ICT programme was the first of its kind in the state and thanked the governor for his approval of the project and for donating computers to the graduates.
He advised the graduates to use the skills acquired to support themselves and their families in the drive to alleviate poverty in the state.
In his response on behalf of the beneficiaries, the instructor, Mr Omede Yahaya thanked the governor for his effort to impact positively on the lives of the people.
He also thanked the wife of the governor for empowering women through her pet project. (NAN)