Hon. Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji (3rd right) Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Innovation Science and Technology Mr. James Sule (2nd left) President, Association of Computer Village Technology Merchants of Nigeria Prince Anthony Nwakeze (2nd right) Executive Director/Chief Operation Officer Mortgage Bank PLC, Mr. Simon Ogwu (left) and Director, Information Communication Technology Depart. FMIST, Mr. Adeyemi Adebayo (right) during the courtesy visit by the Association of Computer Village Technology Merchants of Nigeria Ikeja Lagos, to the Hon. Minister in Abuja.

The Federal Government has concluded plans to set up Information Communication Technology Hubs (ICT) in the six geo-political zones for capacity building and certification of skilled artisans in the country.

Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Chief Uche Geoffery Nnaji who spoke in Abuja said Nigeria loses billions of Naira due to lack of certification of skilled Artisans in the country.

The registration and certification according to the Minister will be done by his ministry in collaboration with Organized Private Sector in the Science and Technology Eco-System

Chief Nnaji said this when the Association of Computer Village Merchants led by its President, Prince Anthony Nwakeze paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.

The Minister said that Presidential Executive Order No. 5 which promotes local content and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda are revolutionary instruments set to transform the country’s economy and grow her gross domestic products (GDP).

Chief Nnaji commended the Association for training over 3000 talented youths as part of her efforts to equip them for certification so as to compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.

He further stated that the Ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with private sector, with its invaluable expertise and resources which will play a vital role in shaping the nation’s workforce towards addressing the country’s challenges and achieving the dream of Nigerians.

The Minister assured the Association of the Ministry’s readiness to collaborate with her in order to promote local content, empower Nigerian Professionals towards creation of jobs and wealth in the country.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. James Sule commended the Association for her contribution towards the socio-economic development of the country in the areas of job opportunities for our teaming youths and income generation.

Earlier, the President of the Association, Prince Anthony Nwakeze, said  “Ikeja Computer Village, Lagos is the largest Information Communication Technology (ICT) Market in Africa with an annual turnover of two billion dollars as reported by the media.

He further said that Computer Village has so far provided employment for over five hundred thousand graduates, three hundred thousand artisans within the last twenty years, adding that the Association also provides skills acquisition for over two hundred thousand graduates every year in the areas of Soft Ware Development, entrepreneurial knowledge amongst others.

Prince Anthony Nwakeze emphasised that the essence of the visit was to collaborate with the Ministry in the area of building capacity by training and re-training of Nigerian youths and professionals in specialise digital skills for research and development in the country