BY MUSLIUDEEN ADEBAYO, IBADAN

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has been urged to make the Ibadan North Local Government Skills Acquisition Centre located at Yemetu Aladorin a diploma- awarding institution.

The caretaker committee chairman of Ibadan North Local Government, Hon. Idris Lapade charged the Oyo State Government and the state House of Assembly to make a law that will make the centre a diploma-awarding institution during the presentation of certificates and equipment to outstanding students and graduation ceremony of 207 graduands of the centre on Friday, May 11, 2012.

The council boss who said the skill acquisition centre which has trained thousands of youths in the areas of Computer Studies, Fashion Designing/ Embroidery, Hair Dressing, Leather Works, Barbing and Electrical works said the centre is a practical manifestation of the efforts of the council to find solutions to unemployment, poverty, illiteracy among the youths in the area.

He said conversion of the centre to a diploma awarding institution will help to reduce the stress admission seekers usually face on yearly basis.

While appealing to the graduands to make wise use of the knowledge acquired, the council chief said the moral of the graduands will be boosted if the state House of Assembly, the Ministry of Education and the state government can convert the centre to award diplomas so as to make the students compete with others in other tertiary institutions.

“I will like to use the opportunity to appeal to the state government to assist the local government by standardizing this training centre so that the centre will become a diploma-awarding institution,” he said.