48 IDPs Undergo Training at Nigeria’s Leather Institute

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

No fewer than 48 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have completed a thorough training at the Nigeria Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST).

The initiative was in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union, which funded the trainees as a step towards the successful implementation of the Executive Order 5 and a platform for the actualization of the change agenda of the federal government.

Director-General of NILEST, Dr Euphoria Ngozi Okpara, stated at the graduation ceremony that the training was a boost to unlocking the enormous potentials existing in leather sector for the benefit of the country.

A representative of the EU at the event, Dr Anthony Ayeke, assured that the regional bloc would continue to partner with the government of Nigeria and other stakeholders in enhancing capacity and changing their lives of the conflict affected per person.

In his address, Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr Bitrus Bako Nabasu, commended the initiative of the EU and the UNDP for recruiting and empowering Nigerian youths, thus making them employable and become better citizens of the nation.

Mr Nabasu further said that the success of the programme was one of the greatest accomplishments of the NILEST based in Zaria.

He emphasised that the impact made by the institute in leather industry cannot be overemphasized, as it can be seen in its mandate that encapsulates capacity development, conduct of research on leather and technologies, provision of global competitive and environmentally friendly technologies, quality control on leather products, among others.

The leather industry, he added, was one of the vibrant sectors in National Economic Development, there by contributing enormously to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.

He further stated that leather is a commodity that can be used in the production of wide range of material such as footwear, upholstery, fashion design, automobile and other leather product industries among others.