By Israel Adamu ,Jos
Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Joseph Ari ,on Monday said the fund is determined to tackle poverty in the Nation.
He also said the ITF has disbursed more than N24 billion as students and supervisors’ training allowances from 2016 to date.
Ari made this known in Jos when the Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Plateau council, gave him an award of excellence in leadership and human capital development.
The DG said that given the fund’s integral role in the training of students of Engineering, Technology and other allied disciplines in tertiary institutions, the ITF had accorded priority attention to the management of the scheme.
Ari assured the public of the fund’s commitment to the prompt payment of students and supervisors’ allowances, “as soon as money is received from the Federal Government”.
He further said that the ITF had automated its business processes in a bid to facilitate business processes within the ITF and with its stakeholders.
In his words ” In appreciation of its contributions to National growth, in 2018 and 2019, the Council for the Development of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), headed by Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, rewarded the ITF with the prestigious Award of Excellence as Outstanding MSMEs Clinic Partner and the Award for outstanding contribution to the development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria respectively.
The ITF was also made a member of the MSMEs Council, which is headed by the Vice President and member of the MSME Survival Plan under the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan.
He added that due to its adherence to transparency and probity, the Fund was named the Most Transparent Agency amongst the over 500 Federal Government Agencies by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
He commended the chapel for finding him worthy of the award and dedicated the award to the entire workforce of the ITF for their dedication and resilience.
Speaking earlier, the Correspondents’ Chapel chairman, Mr Gyang Bere, who presented the award to Ari, said that the award was in recognition of the ITF training of thousands of youths with requisite skills for employability and in turn to reduce unemployment
