The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in collaboration with National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC) began entrepreneurship development training to seven elderly persons in Bauchi.
The Director General of NDE, Malam Abubakar Fikpo, stated this in Bauchi on Friday during the one-day training exercise for the senior citizens.
The state Coordinator of NDE, Mr Lawan Yaya,who spoke for Fikpo, said the NDE realised that some of these elderly people have various skills, hence, the need for them to be brought under one umbrella and given the training.
He added that the move was to carry the elderly along, make them come to the reality that the world has changed and there are new ways of doing business in order to effectively compete in the marketplace.
“We are going to teach them basic bookkeeping, how to source personnel and how to maintain their records including marketing plans which would enable them to compete in the market with their competitors.
“I urge them to listen carefully to the resource persons and utilise the knowledge that would be gathered judiciously,” said the DG.
Also speaking, Mr Jinjiri Garba, Bauchi State Coach, Senior Citizens Consultative Forum, expressed happiness that Nigeria was among the countries with more concern for elderly persons who had been neglected for long.
According to him, a centre had been established at the national level, saying “in all the states, we have representatives which are called consultative forums with each representing government and civil society organisations.”
He explained that the selected beneficiaries are entrepreneurs with some into selling locally made mats while others are into production of locally made guns.
Garba, who revealed that the beneficiaries were 60 years old and above, further stated that each of them would be given the sum of N100,000 to N120,000 grant respectively at the end of the training to buy raw materials in enhancing their businesses.
“We selected them from the three geo-political zones using our gatekeepers, the traditional rulers and the elderly in the communities.
“They should be faithful in whatever they are going to do, and they should use the money strictly for what it’s meant for so that it would open more opportunities for them,” Garba advised.
