Nigeria: BATN Foundation Inaugurated Anambra Community Centre

Source from:  All Africa 12/10/2010

Awka - The British America Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) Foundation has commissioned a Vocational Training Centre for the Ndikelionwu community in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The Executive Director of the foundation, Mr. Gbenga Ibikunle, said at the commissioning ceremony that Nigeria can solve her unemployment problems by the establishment of vocational institutions. He said it was in response to employment needs of Nigeria that BATN Foundation has supported vocational enterprise institutions in Jere and Kaduna in Kaduna State; the Blind School at Oshodi, Akinyele School for the Handicapped and the Business Apprenticeship Training College, Zaria through infrastructure rehabilitation and development. "The large army of Nigerian youths who are unable to gain admission to tertiary institutions can also avail themselves of the great opportunities in vocational education," Ibikunle said. The centre at Ndikelionwu is fully equipped to cater for trainings in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Computer Studies, Cookery and Soap Making. The BATN Foundation's executive director thanked the traditional ruler of Ndikelionwu and famous novelist, Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike, and the National Directorate of Employment for their assistance in getting the centre started off. The traditional ruler of the community said the vocational centre was a follow-up to the establishment of a Cassava Processing Mill funded by BATN. "I took them to a bungalow I built in 1964 (when I was the Registrar of the University of Nigeria) to empower my parents economically in their old age. They considered the complex suitable, and undertook to rehabilitate it," Ike said of the building housing the vocational centre. Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Emeka Sibeudu, who officially inaugurated the centre, said the government would encourage people who are prepared to bring good things to Anambra State. He decried the emigration from rural areas, and urged youths to explore the rich resources that abound in rural areas. He said the process of recruiting teachers to the service of the state was still ongoing, explaining that the delay in the process was caused by the need to ensure that the applicants met set standards. Enditem