Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State on Saturday disclosed plans by the state government to engage expatriates to manage the newly established Aliko Dangote Utral Modern Skills acquisition centre in the state.
Ganduje disclosed this when he led the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo and his entourage to inspect the centre and other developmental projects across the state.
The Governor who hinted that the expatriates would be employed from Europe said he doesn’t care about what critics would say about the decision.
He further gave reasons to engage the services of the expatriates to ensure the sustainability of the centre noting that it would not be business as usual.
According to him, “A situation where such centres are built and few years after it becomes moribund. That would not be the case here. We have considered the sustainability of the centre because we want to prevent damages to facilities after some years. That is why we are engaging trusted foreign experts to manage the place. I know some people will criticise me for bringing experts from Europe when we have many Nigerians that can do the job. I don’t care because all I want is a solid foundation.
“The genesis of the centre was borne out of a passion to reduce growing unemployment in Kano. By the virtue of our population, there is every likelihood of building a liability population. so the centre was established to create a resourceful and asset-based population.
“Hence, the establishment is born out of calculated research and not by error. We carefully identified three special skills where our youth can easily connect and build self-reliance,” Ganduje stated.
In his remarks, the Chief of Naval Staff Vice, Admiral Awwal Gambo expressed optimism that the centre will bridge the gap of lack of technical training and capacity building.
He added that the centre will create job opportunities and self-reliance for the growing population of Kano State
The Naval Chief also used the occasion to disclose plans by the Navy to establish Naval Logistics College as part of their operational base in Kano State.
“I made bold to say that this school of acquisition centre has addressed one of my dreams. I know while we are growing up here we used to have a skill acquisition centre. I don’t know where is it now but I know it’s dead. That is why I say this Dangote centre will address that challenge of self-employment considering the population of Kano state.
“The government has technically also addressed the challenge of security because the youth will be kept busy here and acquire skills for self-employment.
“The Navy is already on the ground in Kano and Insha Allah we are going to establish logistic college here. I have asked the staff officer logistic command to take full cognisance because there is a lot we can learn and a lot the centre can learn from us,” Vice Admiral Gambo stated.
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