The Managing Director of the Jigawa State Environmental Protection Agency (JISEPA), Malam Adamu Sabo, called on the 27 local government council chairmen in the state to collaborate with his agency and advance the Waste to Wealth Initiative by investing more resources into the ongoing women waste recycling management training exercises.
The managing director made the call while fielding questions from newsmen in Gumel town, Gumel Local Government Area, shortly after opening a two-day training session for 160 women in waste recycling management from six local government areas of the zone.
Malam Adamu Sabo said the major challenge experienced by the agency is the large number of women indicating interest in receiving the training, which is above the initial provision of trainees to be participants in the programme.
According to him, “Initially, 600 women were proposed to be trained across the state. But after launching the project last Saturday, when people heard about the programme, its advantages and gains attached to it, many women and youth became interested and trooped to us to be registered.”
He noted that 600 women are targeted for the Waste Recycling training sponsored by UNICEF in collaboration with the Jigawa State Government and the Waste Pickers Association of Nigeria.
Mr Adamu added that the training took place in four centres, namely Dutse, Kazaure, Gumel, and Hadejia, and maintained that the participants had so far demonstrated enthusiasm in learning the skill, describing it as very encouraging.
The MD assured the participants that adequate arrangements were put in place to link them with the market and organise them into cooperatives for easy access to raw materials and sustainable operation.
Speaking while launching the Gumel zone training, the Gumel Local Government Council Chairman, Hon Lawan Ya’u, promised to complement the efforts of the Jigawa State Governor, Malam Umar Namadi, on women empowerment and skills acquisition for job creation, poverty eradication, sustainable growth, and development.
The chairman made the remarks while speaking at the opening session of training women for Waste Recycling Management held in Gumel.
He noted that waste recycling has multiple impacts: “Converting waste into wealth will help in improving environmental hygiene, job creation, and poverty eradication,” the chairman stated.
Hon Ya’u promised to organise such training for more women across the 10 political wards in his area and also advocate to other council chairmen to cascade the training for bigger results.
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