N12m equipment stolen at Onitsha EDC

By ENYIM ENYIM

ONITSHA- Equipment worth about N12million have been carted away  by unknown vandals at the Entrepreneurship Development Centre, EDC, South-East Zonal Headquarters, Onitsha.

Programme Director of the Centre, Prof. Alexander Ikeme, who spoke to newsmen on the incident, said the vandals had a field day as they destroyed the office doors, keys and burglary proofs that secured the office.

He said the EDC office which was commissioned on August 15, 2008 by former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, was aimed at developing entrepreneurship skills among Nigerians and South-East Zone in particular.

He said since its inception, about 12,110 entrepreneurs had been trained, while 19,622 had also been counseled.

He said the 14th Quarterly Report of the EDC South-East Zone had just been submitted to both the Development Finance Unit and governor of the CBN respectively for those trained between July and August 2011.

“We are still dealing with the outreach aspect of the programme and co-habit with the rural poor; adding that EDC programme had been designed to generate employment opportunities for Nigerians; to create wealth; alleviate poverty and to stabilize the socio-economic mobility and stability of Nigeria,” Ikeme said.