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Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has hailed the National Automotive Design and Development Council for training and empowering technicians in the state to be better citizens and properly placed to contribute to economic growth.
Oyebanji, who said that the exercise “marks a significant milestone in our state’s commitment to skills development, wealth creation, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability”, assured that he would sustain such training to boost employment generation and economic growth.
He spoke in Ado Ekiti on Saturday during the closing ceremony of a five-day specialised mechatronics training on repair and maintenance of both Compressed Natural Gas and petrol-powered tricycles and motorcycles, organised for technicians in Ekiti State by NADDC in conjunction with Simba Group Nigeria.
The governor, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Kayode Fasae, said the training came at a time the government was scaling up in the areas of economic empowerment, poverty alleviation, wealth creation and provision of critical infrastructure.
He said, “The motorcycles and tricycles you see across our towns and communities are not just modes of transportation. They are lifelines. For countless families, these vehicles represent livelihood, access, and connection. Ensuring their proper maintenance and functionality is not a luxury; it is a necessity.”
The governor added that the programme, whereby the trainees received skills upgrade and specialised empowerment equipment, “Will lead to the creation of employment opportunities for our youths and stimulate economic growth”.
He assured that, “on our part as a government, we shall continue to work with NADDC and its partners to sustain this programme, ensuring more youths acquire these important technical skills, thereby promoting economic growth in our state. This is more so in view of the inherent benefits in the programme.”
NADDC Director General, Joseph Osanipin, who charged technicians to constantly upgrade their technical skills to remain relevant and boost their economy, said that a skill-gap analysis conducted by NADDC “revealed that many mechanics lacked the expertise or tools to effectively service modern vehicles.”
Osanipin added, “This initiative, driven by the NADDC, aims to continuously bridge the skills gap and upgrade technical knowledge of auto-technicians, thereby creating job opportunities for youths in the Nigerian automotive industry as well as ensuring job retention and wealth creation for auto technicians.”
He said that the Council, in a bid to redress the trend of lack of expertise and tools, began various training programmes for auto-technicians to equip them with modern skills on vehicle repairs and maintenance, and also empowering the beneficiaries with equipment.
Osanipin said, “The Council, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, has so far trained over 15,000 technicians through the Simba Group Nigeria Repair and maintenance of Tricycle and Motorcycles Mechatronics Programmes.
“We believe that this industry has the potential to contribute significantly to our nation’s economic growth and development, and we are working tirelessly to create an enabling environment that will support its growth.
“Through initiatives like this specialised training programme, we are providing the necessary skills and knowledge to our youths, equipping them with the expertise required to compete in the global automotive industry. We are also supporting the development of local content, promoting entrepreneurship, and encouraging innovation in the industry.”
Osanipin, who lauded Simba Group Nigeria, makers of TVS motorcycles and tricycles, for its tireless efforts, expertise and dedication to ensure the success of the training programme, also thanked Ekiti State Government for support and collaboration in the course of implementing the programme.
The NADDC DG charged the members of Tricycles Owners’ Riders Association of Nigeria and Nigerian Automobile Technician Association (NATA), who benefited from the training, tools and cash empowerment, to use the skills to elevate their careers and propel Nigeria’s automotive sector forward, especially in CNG tricycles repairs and maintenance.
The Regional Manager, Simba Group Nigeria, Mr Sumit Panda, who said expertise in current trends in technology would boost technicians’ economy, assured that his organisation would continue to train them as technology advances.
TORAN State Chairman, Talabi Akinola, hailed NADDC and Simba Group for the training, which he said had increased their technical skills and further exposed them.
Akinola assured that the 50 beneficiaries would each train some other technicians in TORAN and NATA to expand the scope.
