SSAP-TVEE, Madam Abiola Arogundade in a group photograph with the beneficiaries.

Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education SSAP-TVEE, Madam Abiola Arogundade Thursday, donated 50 laptops to 50 Junior Secondary School students of Government Secondary School, Tudun-Wada, in Abuja. This is coming barely two months after she donated 50 laptops and 50 course licenses to students of Government Science and Technical College, Garki.

Thursday’s donation, made in partnership with Messrs. Afrifone Limited, a digital equipment manufacturing company in Nigeria, was the second in a series of such donations aimed at achieving a paradigm shift from mainly theoretical to more emphasis on technical in the nation’s education System. The first was made last July to Federal Government Technical College, Garki, also in Abuja.

In her remarks at the main auditorium of the school, where she also gave out the laptops to the students, Madam Arogundade said the donation, which according to her, was in line with the mandate of the President to her office, was to empower the students to develop their technical and vocational skills

The President, Madam Arogundade recalled, had, at the beginning of his administration, mandated relevant Federal Government agencies, including her office, to train no less than five million Nigerians annually in diverse skills, “not only to make them employable but also enable them to be self-employed after graduation”, adding that it is one of the pillars of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

“I am here with my team to donate tablets to 50 Junior Secondary School students of this institution as part of our mandate by the President to promote skills training among the up-coming generation of Nigerians”, the SSAP-TVEE said adding that the overall objective “is to change our education system from high percentage theory to high percentage practical”.

Noting that the donations were aimed at stimulating innovation in technical, vocational and entrepreneurship education among Nigerian youths, the TVEE boss added that this has become expedient in order for Nigeria to remain competitive in the fast changing global technology-based economy.

The SSAP-TVEE, who said the decision to first donate to Junior Secondary School students of the institution was in order to encourage high performance, however, assured those who did not benefit, that they would also benefit in the near future as, according to her, “the President has mandated that no one should be left behind”.

Expressing profound gratitude to Messrs. AFRIFONE Limited for their partnership in making the occasion a reality, Madam Arogundade, who also congratulated the beneficiaries on their “good fortune”, urged them to see the gesture as an opportunity to advance their future towards self-reliance even before graduation.

Interacting with newsmen after handing out the laptops to the students, Madam Arogundade, who emphasised President Tinubu’s commitment to advancing Nigerian youths in technology alongside their contemporaries globally, reiterated that the move has become expedient if Nigeria must remain competitive in the fast changing global technology-based world economy.

She explained that the Federal government is focusing on Federal schools and colleges because, according to her, “that is where the need is”, adding that their private counterparts are usually well equipped with such technical and technology-based equipment.

The SSAP-TVEE stated that in line with the technical part of her portfolio, she has to encourage technical education across the country, adding, “So we are going to all technical colleges and schools which are highly developing technology to donate laptops where they are needed and where we feel that they don’t have enough equipment to further their skills and technology”.

“We are starting from Abuja and we are going to Lagos next. Our goal is to give as many laptops as needed. We want to do a need assessment to see how many technical colleges actually need the laptops. This is the second school we have been to. We will be going to different schools across Abuja and Nigeria”, she said adding that her office is working closely with the college heads and their teachers to monitor and get feedbacks on the use of the laptops by their beneficiaries.

In her goodwill message earlier, the spokesperson for Messrs. Afrifone Limited, Ms. Okafor Judith, expressed delight in the partnership between her organization and the Federal Government through the Office of the SSAP-TVEE, adding that the partnership was based on the commitment of the company toward empowering Nigerian youths and driving the technological advancement of the county in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

Earlier, in his welcome address, the Principal of the Junior Secondary School section of the school, Mr. Ogunsaki Abiodun Nelson, thanked the President and the SSAP-TVEE for giving such consideration to the school and urged all Nigerians to join hands in the fulfillment of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration.

Others who spoke at the ceremony included the Chief Executive Officer of Afrifone Limited, Mr. Atul Saraf, who hailed the partnership, the Vice Principals, Academics. Mrs. Omojola Comfort and her counterpart in Accounting, Mrs. Chinelo Amobi, who also hailed the Federal Government for demonstrating true leadership and Miss Olukayode Samantha, who expressed gratitude, on behalf of the beneficiaries, to the government and the SSAP-TVEE for the gesture.