By Franklin Alli
Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, and Industrial Training Fund, ITF, yesterday, donated electrical, electronics and telecommunication equipment to Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba, saying it is “for manpower development.”

Speaking during the presentation ceremony, Director-General of NECA, Mr. Segun Osinowo, said:

“Ordinarily, we should not be involved in equipment donation, but the situation of our country compelled us to initiate the projects to try and make technical and vocational skills available in Nigeria.

“The whole idea of this project is to showcase it as model that government can adopt.”

According to him, “if the Federal Government must achieve its set goals of becoming one of the top twenty economies by the year 2020, there was urgent need to address the dearth of technical and vocational manpower in the economy, hence, NECA and ITF decided to come together on this project.”

Lagos entered into partnership with  member companies, have allocated 1 percent of their annual profit.
He further disclosed that NECA member companies are committed to the success of scheme and had set aside 1 % of their profit after tax, to support Skills Acquisition Programme. This, he said, has been ongoing since 2009.

Chairman, Governing Council of ITF, Alhaji Bode Oyedele, charged the school authority to use the equipment to facilitate teaching and learning skills of the students in electrical electronic engineering craft and telecommunication so as to prepare them for a better tomorrow.

Principal of the school, Mr. Michael Ofor, lauded the two organisations for supporting the college, saying 40 pioneer students have been carefully selected for the scheme.

“It is hoped that with this programme now fully in place, the status of the college will not only rise tremendously but that the dream of the country to be ranked among the twenty industrialised economies in the next nine years will be realisable,” said Ofor.