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| Hon. Ndudi Elumelu presents certificate to a participant at the empowerment training in Asaba. |
The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi
Elumelu has said that he remains committed to alleviating poverty among his
constituents in Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State.
Elumelu spoke on Friday 20th September, 2019 at the closing
ceremony of the three-day entrepreneurial and enterprises development training
programme sponsored by him for the people of the federal constituency. The
training held through Monday 16th, 17th and 19 September at the conference hall
of the Delta State Ministry of Higher Education, New Secretariat Building,
Asaba, Delta State Capital.
He said that the programme is geared towards empowering the
people, and in fulfillment of his campaign promises, saying that the facilities
that will be given to them is to assist them in kick starting a worthwhile
business life that will add value to the State and the country in general.
The federal legislator who represents Aniocha/Oshimili federal
Constituency in the House of Representatives revealed that Mr. Tony Elumelu,
Founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation, that is geared towards establishing young
entrepreneurs in African with a yearly budget of over 100 million dollars, has
graciously agreed to partner with his empowerment programme for the people of
Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency with the successful commencement of this
first edition.
Elumelu said that the training and implementation of the
programme was being organized and handled by Small and Medium Enterprises
Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
under his sponsorship, stressing that the participants who are over 200 are
entitled for a low interest loan up to N10 million.
“If you are given for instance N10 million facility to open a
business, the tendency is that you open the business and you will also create
employment by employing those people who will do the job, by so doing, we are
adding value to the economy. This has informed why we brought this idea through
SMEDAN and Central Bank,” he stated and want further to tutor the participants
on secretes and principles of growing small and medium scale businesses.
“I can confidently tell
you that this thing involves discipline, it involves integrity, it involves you
having resilient spirit, empathy and humility.
“For Instance, humility, when you are given the facility, the
only thing that can make you go beyond where you are with the facility is by
being humble and appreciate where you are coming from and be able to intensify
your effort towards ensuring that the money is not wasted,” he admonished.
The Minority leader pointed out that having a resilient spirit
is a critical factor towards utilizing a facility that is geared towards
assisting in alleviating poverty in the life of a people or a person.
He said: “Resilient spirit is to say, I can never go down, I
will obviously make it. The money being given to you is to kick start your
life. So by the time you have it and you have this resilient spirit, obviously
what you are telling yourself is that you are unstoppable.
“As You have that spirit in you, yes the money is important, but
what is more important is you as a person, to accept that you are capable of
achieving what is possible within your domain and also impact in other people
by creating jobs and making other people feel the fact that you have also
gained some experience, given what you have leant from this programme.”
Hon. Elumelu also spoke on empathy as a fundamental principle
for growing small and medium scale businesses, saying, “what takes you far is
how you feel about people around you and how you feel about the business that
you have been asked to do,” even as he noted that the facility, being a long
term interest loan, should not be a criteria for them to be irresponsible, warning
that by so doing, they will be destroying their glorious future.
“To whom much is given, much is expected”, he cautioned, and
wished the participants everything that will make them become very rich to the
extent that they will be giving him money instead of he giving them.
Some of the participants in an interview, commended the sponsor,
Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, for his kind gesture by putting up the programme and
acknowledged that it will, indeed, help them to start a life that will be
impactful.
Highlight of the closing ceremony was the official issuance of
certificate of participation to the participants that cut across the four local
Government areas of the Federal Constituency which included Aniocha North,
Aniocha South, Oshimili North and Oshimili South.
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