REMARKS BY THE GOVERNOR OF ANAMBRA STATE, HIS EXCELLENCY,
CHIEF WILLIE OBIANO AT THE SIGNING OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE
GOVERNMENT, TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGES, FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC OKO AND
INNOSON VEHICLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015
PROTOCOL
This is a remarkable event in the life of my administration.
Today, we begin a new chapter in the powerful narrative of the New Anambra
State. Today, we lay the foundation for the emergence of a generation that will
fully demonstrate what we call the SPIRIT OF ANAMBRA to the rest of the world.
With the MoU that we will sign here today, we begin a more organized quest for
industrial excellence in Anambra State.
As some of you here may recall, I paid a glowing tribute to Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Limited in my Inaugural Address. I described the story of Innoson as “the story of courage and vision.” Our objective here today is to expand the vision of one man so that it becomes the vision of a people. We have resolved to avoid the mistakes of the past when we lacked the foresight to harness the gifts and talents of today for the progress and prosperity of tomorrow.
Ladies and gentlemen, the partnership we are cementing today
is an important step in exploiting INDUSTRIALIZATION, which is one of the Four
Pillars of my administration’s economic blueprint. The other three are Agriculture,
Trade & Commerce and Oil & Gas.
Education is a very important ENABLER to all the Four Pillars.
It is especially important to
Industrialization. While our people have always demonstrated a strong
inclination towards industrialization, there has not been a serious
institutional effort to build our capacity to support our quest for industrial
growth. There is a need to develop more approaches to capacity building beyond
the Technology Incubation Center in Nnewi which is jointly owned by Anambra
State and the Federal Government.
That is why this partnership is aptly tagged The Bridge
Project. It serves as an important bridge, connecting the educational sector to
the dynamics of the labour market. Under
this partnership, we are redesigning the curriculum of our technical colleges
to ensure the production of students that are truly equipped to fit into
immediate employment.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is important to state at this
juncture, that the Bridge Project is a fulfillment of the World Bank’s State
Education Programme Investment Project (SEPIP) for 2014. The World Bank is
committing the sum of $2.1m to this project. We must thank the World Bank for
its significant interest in Anambra State and its efforts to assist our quest
for accelerated development.
In this first phase of the Bridge Project, we are offering a
unique training experience to 493 students, drawn from 11 technical colleges in
Anambra State. These students and their teachers will learn the intricacies of
designing automobile bodies and other elements of automobile engineering. It is
my candid hope that the students and their teachers will find this opportunity a
rewarding experience. It is even more so when we remember that the training
will take place inside the workshop of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company
Ltd, the leading automobile manufacturing plant in West Africa.
Under this partnership which will last for 10 years, Innoson
Vehicle Manufacturing Company will not only offer its auto production line to
the benefit of the students, Innoson’s crop of auto engineers, designers and
technicians will also devote time to teaching and mentoring the students and their
teachers. The beneficiaries will observe and learn the entire process of
automobile production from the best hands in the business. A direct consequence
of this partnership is that the State Ministry of Education, under the able
leadership of Prof. Kate Omenugha has started the process of redesigning the
curriculum of our technical colleges to accommodate automobile body building.
We are also using the opportunity offered by this new
thinking to review the curriculum of our schools with a view to giving our
children a more functional education than is presently the case. We must thank
Chief Innocent Chukwuma and his group of companies for influencing such a
remarkable change in our educational sector.
Another reason why the training should be of great benefit to
the students and teachers drawn from all the technical colleges in Anambra
State is the involvement of the Federal Polytechnic Oko. Under this
partnership, Lecturers from the Federal Polytechnic Oko will support the
Innoson Group with their own expertise in addition to providing mentorship to
the beneficiaries. The presence of these lecturers will heighten the academic
and conceptual content of the programme and ensure a balanced and wholesome
experience. Indeed, we must also thank the governing council of Federal
Polytechnic Oko for being a part of this historic partnership.
Ladies and gentlemen, it may interest you to know that in the
past 5 months, my administration has attracted investments estimated at $1.63bn
into Anambra State. Of all these investments, the one that will benefit the
Bridge Project the most is the $150m agreement with UDIPPCO Ltd to build and
generate 80 megawatts of electricity in Anambra State. It is my fervent hope
that when this project becomes operational, the power supply challenge that has
forced many industrialists out of business will be dealt a fatal blow to pave
the way for the emergence of a new generation of industrialists and
entrepreneurs.
On this note, I would like to thank the representatives of
the World Bank, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Ltd, Federal Polytechnic
Oko and the various technical colleges here present for being a part of this
historic ceremony.
God Bless Anambra State
God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Dalunu!
Chief Willie Obiano
Governor, Anambra State
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