No fewer than 46 Women from Ussa local government area and Yangtu Special Development Area of Taraba State have been graduated from two weeks skills acquisition programme of a foundation owned by the Chairman Governing Board, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, Chief Ezekiel Irimiya Afukunyo.
Our Correspondent reports that the graduation ceremony took place at the Central Primary School Lissam in Ussa local government area of Taraba State, North-east Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, the sponsor of the programme, Chief Ezekiel Irmiya Afukonyo, represented by the Managing Director Afukonyo Foundation, Mr Ezra Agyo Audu said it has been his passion and dream to empower women and youths of Taraba State for them to be self reliant instead of depending on government.
According to him, with the completion of the training in Ussa and Yangtu, his Foundation has successfully covered the entire Southern part of the state, stressing that they will soon be moving to other Senatorial zones of the state.
Chief Ezekiel Irmiya Afukonyo, commended the resource persons for their tireless efforts to impact the skills and the graduands for their eagerness to learn and charged them to put to practice what they learned to better their lives and that of their families.
On his part, the Chief Ezekiel Irmiya Afukonyo’s Coordinator of Southern Taraba, Mr Miracle Joshua told the graduands that, it was out of love the sponsor of the training has for them that he has put his resources to empower them, advising them to impress the sponsor by stepping down what they have learned to the people of their societies to fight poverty.
He opined that, Chief Ezekiel Irmiya Afukonyo has a lot of programmes plan for the state because he has his people at heart.
Displaying the handiwork of the graduands to the guests at the event, the
North-east Coordinator of Kingdom Wealth Global Empowerment Foundation, Mrs Patience Bitrus said, she was impressed by the level of assimilationn of the graduands as even before their graduation, they were already producing and selling some of the things they learnt.
She expressed joy over the partnership with the Afokunyo’s foundation, insisting that if the state will have people like him, more women and youths will have one skill or the other to depend on.
Earlier in his address of welcome, the Ussa Local Government Coordinator of the foundation, Akanti Yirom said no public office holder from the local government area has done what Afokunyo has done to the people of the area, saying they are indebted to him.
In their separate goodwill messages, the representatives of CAN and Muslim Council in Ussa Local Government Area, commended the sponsor of the programme and prayed God to bless and reward him, while they charged the beneficiaries not to play with what they were taught as it will change their lives.
One of the beneficiaries who spoke at the occasion appreciated the sponsor of the programme, saying that what he has done is the best by showing them how to fish instead of given them fish admitting that their lives have been changed already.
Highlight of the event, was presentation of starter packs to the graduands by the representative of Ezekiel Irmiya Afukonyo and cultural dances to the admiration of the guests.