The Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment has partnered with Pan Atlantic University’s Enterprise Development Centre to train youths in employability and entrepreneurship skills.
During a press briefing over the weekend, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, the Lagos state Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, stated that the course, which is set to begin in the first quarter of this year, aims to train 10,000 participants in 24 months.
He stated that the program would incorporate “online-sponsored and physical community learning” formats.
He added that “the application for the training program would be opened to all youth in the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas in the state.”
According to the commissioner, the best 80 participants who successfully complete the curriculum will receive a seed capital of N200,000.
Ajigbotafe said, “The present economic situation in Nigeria and across the globe makes it obvious that the government can no longer work in isolation, hence the need to collaborate with the organized private sector to actualize her dream of wealth creation and employment for the teeming youth in Lagos State.”
“This informed the partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan Atlantic University on capacity building and human capital development for youth on skills and knowledge necessary for employability and entrepreneurship growth for the development of the state through the transformation of the Nigerian youth program powered by the MasterCard Foundation,” the commissioner added.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")
