From Magnus Eze and Sam Bello, Abuja
The Federal Government, yesterday, said it would cost about N7billion to empower persons in the insurgency-affected areas of North East with entrepreneurial skills.
This was as Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, promised that government through the 17 agencies under the ministry would pursue vigorously, programmes and projects that could help transfer skills to displaced and vulnerable persons in the affected areas.
He made the disclosure in Abuja, while receiving the report of a committee set up to work out intervention for the reconstruction of the North East region.
He said the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), would be used to help affected persons become more productive, acquire skills and become entrepreneurs with small or medium scale industries.
He said: “I believe it can help hire other people in the process, jobs would be created also wealth will be created but above all it will help to fight poverty.Chairman of the committee and Director General, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Professor Mohammed Haruna, represented by Dr. Zainab Hammanga, said the committee visited all the areas that needed restructuring in the region and came up with the report grouped into products and services and collated into various sectors of the economy.