The Benue government on Saturday graduated 14,942 women and youth who completed 40 different skills acquisition programmes in Makurdi Local Government Area. The large graduation event highlighted the state’s push to reduce unemployment and promote entrepreneurship among young people and women. The skills offered were grouped into seven major departments and included painting, cosmetology, Ankara design, organic fertiliser production, makeup artistry, shoemaking, catering, and several other practical trades.
Out of the total number of beneficiaries, 6,000 women and youth received their intensive two-week training at the Aper Aku Stadium before joining others from across the 23 local government areas for the official graduation ceremony. The programme aimed to give participants hands-on experience that would allow them to start small businesses or improve existing ones.
Speaking during the event, the group managing director of the Benue Investment and Property Company, Raymond Asemakaha, announced that the company, working with the state government, would establish a business fund to support small and medium enterprises. He explained that the plan is focused on helping young people and women who are ready to venture into entrepreneurship.
Mr Asemakaha said the goal is to empower the beneficiaries to turn their newly acquired skills into successful businesses that can contribute to the growth of Benue’s economy. He called on the state government to introduce business-friendly laws that would help young entrepreneurs access larger markets and strengthen SME development across the state. According to him, “We want to domesticate the start-up law that has been in existence. We want to bring it up so that our people will benefit from it to start up their businesses and explore.”
He added that, “We are working to domesticate the start-up loan; it has already been done at the federal level, and by next week, we will sign the law so that you will have the seed capital. One of the major problems we have in the state is that people don’t have seed capital, which is the major thing. When the law is established in the state, we should be able to give the start-up capital for our teeming youth.”
Mr Asemakaha also noted that the governor’s decision to invest in human capital was central to the programme. He said, “The governor has thought that the best thing to do is to invest in human capital; that’s why he has put the training together for us to reengineer and redirect the economy and train these persons, not just in the theoretical aspect but also the practical aspects.”
Emmanuel Iorbee, the principal senior assistant to the governor on protocol and wardrobe, who organised the skills acquisition programme, said he was instructed by Governor Hyacinth Alia to “go and make it happen.” He explained that, “So far, we have trained over 14,000 Benue women and youth with entrepreneurial skills. Today, we have about 6,000 women and youth trained in Makurdi LG alone, who we have come to graduate, and we see how we can empower them to go and have something to do.”
He added that the programme covered around 40 skills, including shoemaking, bag making, oil and spray perfume production, beverages, detergent making, soap making, and several other income-generating trades. According to him, “And what we are doing here today is that we are sharing with them the vision of the state governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia. The message we are giving them is, ‘Don’t be a youth on the street; be a youth with something doing’.”
Terver Gbenda, the senior special assistant to the governor on youth organisations and illegal levies, said his office sponsored the 6,000 women and youth who graduated in Makurdi. He stated that participants were selected through advertorials, online ads, and group announcements. Mr Gbenda said the programme had taken many women and youth off the streets and noted that many of them only needed small support to start their own businesses.
Chairman of the occasion and commissioner for finance, Michael Ogleba, assured the graduands of government support. He encouraged them to work hard through honest labour and reminded them that the skills they acquired would remain valuable for life. Representatives of the graduands thanked the governor, facilitators, and organisers for the opportunity given to them.
Benue indigenes can also apply for Benue BDIC Free Digital Skills Training for 23,000 youth.
