Babagana Umara Zulum has empowered 2,970 young people who completed intensive vocational training across the state, distributing starter packs and business kits worth N2.05 billion to enable them establish their own enterprises.
The empowerment ceremony took place at the Muna Vocational Enterprises Institute in Maiduguri, where the beneficiaries, drawn from nine modern vocational training institutes across Borno State, received tools and equipment in various trades.
The centres, established by the Zulum administration, offer training in high-demand fields including information technology, plumbing, construction, tailoring, welding, and other artisan skills.
The governor said the initiative was part of his administration’s commitment to youth empowerment and the protection of vulnerable groups, particularly those affected by over a decade of insurgency.
Zulum noted that insurgency had disrupted livelihoods, increased unemployment, and exposed many young people to hardship, making sustainable interventions necessary to restore dignity and rebuild economic capacity.
He recalled that since 2019, the state government had established five vocational enterprise institutes in Muna, Mafa, Biu, Shani, and Magumeri, reactivated nine vocational training centres, and set up three second-chance skills entrepreneurship schools dedicated to women and girls.
According to the governor, the state has invested over N40 billion in the establishment, rehabilitation, and equipping of vocational institutes, training centres, and technical colleges to promote Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), reduce the number of out-of-school youths, and develop a skilled workforce.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Education, Engr. Lawan Abba Wakilbe said the programme was conceived as part of the governor’s broader agenda to promote self-reliance, restore dignity, and rebuild livelihoods among conflict-affected youths, women, and vulnerable members of society.
The event was attended by the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education, Professor Idris Bugaje, Senators Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Mohammed Ali Ndume, and Kaka Shehu Lawan, as well as other senior government officials.
