Recently, the vice president, Senator Kashim Shettima was in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa state where he performed a chain of activities that have positive impacts on the lives of the ordinary citizens. BAYO MUHAMMAD ALABIRA in this report captures the activities.
The vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima recently paid a state visit to Jigawa state during which he flagged off some programmes and commissioned series of others created by the state government to better the lives of its citizens.
On arrival, the vice president in the company of his host, the state governor, Malam Umar Namadi headed straight to Hamma Yayye village in Dutse local governmen area where he inspected and commissioned 20,000 hectres of sprinkler based solar powered irrigation scheme made for dry season farming activities.
After the brief ceremony at Baranda, the vice president equally accompanied by the other two state governors of Kebbi and Kaduna, Shehu Idris and Uba Sani as well as the two deputy governors of Katsina and Sokoto states commissioned 100 KVA solar-energy powered supply at Dutse Central Market.
During the commissioning, the vice president said the 100 KVA solar powered energy supply was installed by the state government to provide stable power for small scale enterprises to boost their businesses and improve their livelihood as well as incomes.
Also the vice president proceeded and launched the Jigawa state government-subsidised food shops which were provided across the 287 electoral wards of the state to uplift and reduce drastically the hardship faced by the state civil servants and the ordinary citizens.
From there, the procession left for the Aminu Kano Triangle where Senator Shettima also launched the 4th Expanded National Micro Scale and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Clinics.
According to him, it would empower the citizens and grow thousands of MSMSE in the state with a view to boosting businesses and create job opportunities among the middle business class and as well eradicate poverty among the over all populace in the state.
While in Fanisau, precisely at the Yakubu Gowon National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) Orientation Camp, Senator Shettima flagged-off the training programme for 1,000 youths from the state on Artificial Intelligence tagging and blockchain technology for outsourcing initiatives.
Also as part of activities performed by the vice president at the NYSC Orientation Camp was the launch of the two agricultural interventions programme created by the state government.
He commissioned the trained 1,435 J-AGRO agricultural extension agents as well as the distribution of agricultural inputs under NG CARES Fadama Programme, expected to cover over 26,000 beneficiaries of which over 30% were women.
At Aminu Kano Triangle
The host governor, Malam Umar Namadi while welcoming the vice president at Aminu kano Triangle, venue of the MSMS Clinics said the visit was certainly an auspicious one, full of bounties for the people of the state.
Namadi showed his appreciation to the number 2 citizen whose office is spearheading the laudable job creation initiatives across the country.
“Ultimately, these would support not only the attainment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for inclusive and sustainable socio-economic growth and development but also the attainment of our state’s development objectives of improved socio economic well being for all, as encapsulated in our 12-point agenda.
“It was in line with this that we repositioned the former Directorate of Economic Empowerment to State Agency for Economic Empowerment and Youth Employment backed by state legislation.
“In it’s only one year of existence, the agency has implemented over 30 different empowerment and employment programmes with over 100,000 beneficiaries,” Namadi added.
The governor said that the agency has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bank of Industry under which a revolving matching-fund scheme worth N6 billion was established purposely to support the development of Small, Medium and Large-Scale Enterprises and Entrepreneurs in the state.
Furthermore, at the Aminu Kano Triangle, Namadi said his guest, the vice president had commissioned the Jigawa State Micro Retailers Empowerment Programme serving as springboard for youths aspiring to become big-time businessmen.
“While 50 units of the Retail Shops were launched today, the Programme would involve the provision of 300 of such kiosks spread across the 287 political wards of the state.
“The second programme was the commissioning of Jigawa Palliative Shop also performed by the vice president at Yalwawa Quarters along the By-pass Road in Dutse.
“This is a ‘pay less’ cashless transaction initiative which would involve the provision of essential commodities, particularly food stuff to the target beneficiaries at prices below the reigning market prices,” Namadi stressed.
He explained that even though the delivery of the customised ATM cards and Point-of-Sale Equipment for the commencement of sales across all the 287 wards in the state are being awaited, the Palliative Shop Distribution Centre for Dutse LGA is fully stocked with the required essential commodities.
At Fanisau NYSC Orientation camp
Governor Namadi appreciated the effort of the vice president and his team for bringing the important programme to Jigawa state as according to him, the training of 1,000 youths on Artificial Intelligence Tagging and Blockchain Technology is timely.
He noted that the ICT Outsourcing Programme was initiated by the Office of Vice President in partnership with GLUWA, a blockchain technology firm in the country.
Namadi urged the participating teeming youths to take the training serious with the aim of making the livelihood out of the whole programme.
“Indeed, this is a rare opportunity at the doorstep of our youths to venture into the digital world of ICT outsourcing and reap all the benefits that it offers particularly in terms of job creation and opportunities to contribute to the growth of our economy.
“The state is blessed with hundreds of thousands of ICT-savvy and qualified youths in various fields of information and communications technology.
“This is courtesy of our very reputable Informatics Institute established more than two decades ago which was affiliated to the well-known Informatics Institute of Singapore,” he said.
According to him, the state is also home to Galaxy ITT, the state government-owned ICT firm which was the precursor to the federal government’s Galaxy Backbone which largely facilitates the Nation’s Digital Economy Initiatives.
Namadi therefore said as it is with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu, so it is with his 12-Point Agenda, adding that the interventions around digital technologies and innovation are considered as topmost development priorities even as he noted that they not only serve as new frontiers of economic development but also as vehicles for accelerated economic growth.
“This could be seen from the contributions of the ICT sector to our national GDP, from less than 10% in 2021 to almost 17% in the last quarter of 2023 as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
“This was what informed the decision of Jigawa state government to establish a new agency known as ICT & Digital Economy Agency for which an enabling law has already been passed and accented to.
“We already have a robust state ICT master plan, the implementation of which we will assiduously pursue to promote e-governance and accelerate the deepening of digital economy in our development interventions,” Namadi concluded.