The Central Bank of Nigeria has completed and handed over the Center for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) building to Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike in Abia State.

The CBN intervention project which was conceived in 2011 was designed to boost skills acquisition and by extension, small and medium scale enterprises development in the South East geo-political zone.

The centre, which was built as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility of the apex bank, has many units for making shoes, slippers, bag and sandals making unit, bread, cake, chin-chin and Custard marking unit, clothing and textile unit, auto mechanic and generator repairs, insecticide, Air freshener and perfume unit among others.

Represented by a Deputy Director at the CBN, Mr. Oluwole Owoeye, during the handing over ceremony of the Centre, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the project was part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of CBN and appealed to people of the South East to leverage and take advantage of the centre in developing their skills.

“In Nigeria we realised that for now, there is dearth of skills. People don’t have relevant skills. So the essence of this thing is for people to develop skills in various areas, so that they can be independent,” the CBN Governor said.

“This one is the project the bank has developed for the south East zone. My appeal is Abia and the entire South East should leverage and take advantage of this centre, come and develop their skills. We know that Aba is well known for a lot of SMEs, so I want to use this medium to appeal to the people in Aba, its environs and entire Abia to come and patronise this centre, so that we will build up their skills,” the Governor appealed.

“”We have shoes, slippers, bags and sandals making unit; bread, cake, chin-chin and custard marking unit, clothing and textile unit, auto mechanic and generator repairs, insecticide, Air freshener and perfume unit among others in this centre. So people from the south East zone should come in and build their skills so that Nigeria will be a better place for all of us," he added.

Emefiele, who enjoined the Centre Director to always furnish the MOUAU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Francis Otunta, with information about the Centre to enable him to assist in critical areas, also called on Abia State Government to assist MOUAU in supplying facilities which may be lacking at the centree to sustain it.

The Vice Chancellor commended Prof. Ikenna Oyido for his vision in attracting the project, his successor, Prof. Hilary Odo Edeoga, for sustaining the building of the Centre and the CBN for conceiving and completing the project.

Represented by Prof. Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Otunta said the CED was to make the university a foremost institution in Nigeria that provides comprehensive and highly accessible quality entrepreneurship education and training.

Welcoming guests, the Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship at the university, Prof. Oji Onu Ekumankama, commended the CBN boss for reaffirming his interest in CED and in promoting entrepreneurial education and training in the university.

Ekumankama described the project as a big morale booster for CED with the goal to provide facilities and expertise for students of MOUAU and catchment community people and bolster the growth and development of SMEs through sustainable quality, effective and dynamic entrepreneurial coaching and assistance.

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