By Our Correspondent

The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) said it was currently training no fewer than 66 artisans under the federal government’s Special Public Works (SPW) scheme in Gombe State.

The three-month intensive training was organised under the Artisans in Collaborative Construction Employment Scheme (ACCES) commenced in December and is expected to end in February, 2025.
Speaking with journalists in Gombe, Mrs Mawa Lamu Asmau, the State Coordinator of NDE, Gombe State office explained that the government through the agency was committed to closing the unemployment gap in the country with the provision of avenues for productive utilisation of the human capital.
She stated that during the training participants were expected to acquire marketable skills to become self-employed and reduce poverty, hunger, youth restiveness as well as other social vices.
According to her, the NDE under the present leadership of its Director-General, Mr. Silas Ali Agara, is committed to combating unemployment in the country in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Mass Employment Initiative.

She expressed optimism that the current employment initiative designed to engage a total of 93,731 unskilled and unemployed persons across Nigeria would help reduce unemployment while creating wealth amongst youths.
She advised participants to leverage the initiative to empower themselves and become self-reliant, contributing to national development.
Asmau stressed that the agency was re-strategising ways towards empowering youths through skill acquisition, hence urged Nigerians to support and embrace the Federal Government’s initiatives aimed at addressing unemployment in the country.
She commended President Tinubu and Mr Agara for supporting efforts at tackling unemployment in the state while giving unskilled and unemployed youths a sense of belonging.

By Our Correspondent

This donation is aimed at alleviating poverty and reducing hardship among the state’s residents.

This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Distribution Committee, Alhaji Chiroma Abdulsalam Baciji, also known as Sa’in Funakaye. According to Sa’in Funakaye, Dr. Bala Bello Tinka has provided #50,000 each to all Imams and Na’ibs of Jumma’ah mosques in Gombe metropolitan, along with 1 million to the less privileged in each of these mosques.

Specifically, the two Izalah groups at Bolari Central Mosque got 5 Million Three hundred thousand naira only, which comprises 44 Jumma’ath mosques, and Izalah Goro Central Mosque got 5 Million 9 hundred thousand naira with 49 Jumma’ath mosques, were identified as beneficiaries of ₦1 million each.

In their separate remarks, the Chairman of JIBWIS Gombe State, Sheikh Engineer Alhaji Salisu Muhammad Gombe Bolari branch, and the Chairman of the Council of Ulama JIBWIS Goro Mosque branch, Sheikh Hamza Adamu Abdulhamid, commended Dr. Bala Bello Tinka for his timely intervention.

They described his contribution as a form of jihad, demonstrating his deep concern for his community. Both leaders prayed for God to reward Dr. Tinka abundantly for his efforts.

Dr. Bala Bello Tinka also extended his generosity to the Christian community in Gombe State by donating ₦2 Million five hundred thousand naira to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Center in Gombe.

This donation was intended to be distributed among the less privileged within the Christian community.

Receiving the committee, Reverend Father Joseph Shinga expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Christian community. He assured Dr. Tinka of their support and prayers, and he emphasized the importance of using the funds wisely to assist their neighbors.

Several beneficiaries who benefited from this gesture include Malam Abubakar Usman Bolari, Malam Imrana Ibrahim, Malam Musa Doctor Yalanguruza, and Mr. Joseph, expressed their deep appreciation for Dr. Bala Bello Tinka’s concern, love, and empathy during this challenging period, pledging their unwavering support for him in all aspects of life.

The committee visited several locations during the distribution of the ₦100 million, including Bolari Central Jumma’ath Mosque, Goro Central Jumma’ath Mosque, and the CAN Center in Gombe State.

By our correspondent

Stakeholders have pledged to ensure sustainability of the USAID Nigeria State Accountability, Transparency, and Effectiveness (State2State) Activity being implemented in Adamawa State.
They made the pledge in separate interviews with journalists on Thursday, at the end of a three-day workshop tagged “Adamawa State Year Five Consultative Work Plan,” held in Gombe.
Dr. Mary Paninga, the Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Planning Commission said the impact of the project in enhancing governance, had made it imperative to sustain it.
According to Paninga, the USAID intervention had been instrumental in smoothening governance and enhancing better service delivery, hence, “it will not be good not to own the project after its expiration in 2025.
“With this workshop, there is assurance that every discussion made will be followed up and the sustainability of each and every of the platforms is being guaranteed.
“We will ensure that we monitor and ensure that everyone of these come to fruition, logical conclusion, bring up the output that Adamawa State and its citizens would benefit from,” she said.
The executive secretary commended USAID State2State for all the reforms that had been introduced towards ensuring transparency, accountability, and effectiveness towards strengthening governance systems in the state.
On his part, Mr Makallan Akila, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Adamawa State said the state’s budgeting processes had been greatly reformed and improved with the support of USAID State2State project.
Akila said there were many reforms that State2State brought to Adamawa State in so many ministries, departments, and agencies that have to do with accountability, transparency and effectiveness in governance.
He said plans were already on towards sustaining such reforms as State2State roll out in 2025.
“With the benefits of the State2State reforms, there is the willingness from stakeholders to sustain these reforms.
“State2State has built the capacity of staff in budget and planning ministry, and today, our staff can prepare Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and others.
“We now, through State2State training, have the staff with the capacity to plan and budget very well based on available data.
“Before, budgeting was done in a skeletal manner without data and template of proper budgeting; State2State intervention has changed that narrative; this is commendable, and we will sustain the reforms,” he said.
For Mr Sani Sabo, the Adamawa State chairman of Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) , said there were fears from its members that State2State is rolling out soon.
Sabo, however said they would sustain advocacies and continue to pursue the reforms so that his members would continue to reap the gains of the project and reforms.