Artisans and technicians in Ebonyi State, under the aegis of the Artisans Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi State Chapter, have commended President Bola Tinubu and Governor Francis Nwifuru for supporting skills development and technical capacity building, pledging to partner the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) to expand opportunities for practitioners in the state.
The association said the newly commissioned NADDC Automotive Training Centre in Abakaliki would provide a strategic platform for upgrading the technical competencies of artisans and technicians, promoting technology transfer, strengthening local content and creating sustainable employment opportunities.
The association’s President, Engr. Francis John Nwebonyi, stated this after the group’s monthly meeting held at Great Aristocrats Hotel, Ezza Road, Abakaliki, where members reviewed the implications of the new automotive training facility for artisans and the state’s economy.
Nwebonyi described the centre as a major intervention capable of repositioning the state’s informal technical sector, particularly by exposing practitioners to modern automotive technologies, diagnostics, mechatronics, electric vehicles and other emerging areas of the industry.
He said the association was prepared to collaborate with NADDC and relevant government agencies to ensure that the facility translated into tangible skills, enterprise development and employment for Ebonyi youths.
According to him, the association would mobilise its members and prospective artisans to take advantage of the training opportunities provided by the centre, stressing that technical competence had become indispensable to Nigeria’s industrial and economic transformation.
“We appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru for supporting initiatives that promote technical education, human-capital development and economic empowerment.
“The commissioning of the NADDC Automotive Training Centre in Ebonyi is a welcome development for artisans and technicians. We are ready to collaborate with NADDC and other stakeholders to train, retrain and equip our members and prospective artisans with the skills required to meet the demands of modern technology,” Nwebonyi said.
He added that the association’s partnership with NADDC would focus on improving professional standards, encouraging certification, promoting safety and strengthening the capacity of artisans to compete in an increasingly technology-driven automotive industry.
Nwebonyi also urged the Federal and state governments to sustain investment in technical and vocational education, arguing that artisans and technicians constituted an important component of the productive workforce and should be integrated into broader economic development programmes.
He said the association would continue to encourage young people to embrace vocational skills as a viable pathway to self-employment, entrepreneurship and wealth creation rather than depend exclusively on white-collar jobs.
The development came shortly after the commissioning of the NADDC Automotive Training Centre on Ogoja Road, Abakaliki, which the Council described as its first automotive training centre commissioned in the South-East.
At the commissioning, Nwifuru urged automobile manufacturers, investors and indigenous entrepreneurs to establish businesses in Ebonyi, assuring them of an enabling environment for technology transfer, local capacity development and sustainable job creation.
The governor described the centre as an investment in the future of automotive technology and urged youths to discard the perception that technical education was inferior to conventional academic education.
The NADDC Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, said the facility was designed to provide practical, industry-relevant training for youths, technicians, artisans, students, entrepreneurs and other automotive practitioners.
Osanipin said the centre would support skills acquisition, technical innovation, entrepreneurship, technology transfer and workforce development, with training covering emerging technologies such as compressed natural gas, electric vehicles, automotive mechatronics and electronic diagnostics.
Nwebonyi said the artisans’ association would use the opportunity to deepen its engagement with NADDC, adding that sustained collaboration among government agencies, professional associations and private-sector operators remained essential to converting technical skills into businesses, jobs and increased productivity.
He further called for adequate maintenance of the centre, continuous provision of modern training equipment and stronger linkages between trainees and industry operators to enable beneficiaries to transition effectively from skills acquisition to productive enterprise.
“The objective should not only be to train artisans but to build competent professionals who can create businesses, employ others and contribute meaningfully to the economic development of Ebonyi State and Nigeria,” he said.
