By Amos Aar
THE Benue State Government on Tuesday donated second-hand Corolla S saloon cars to all the 23 deputy chairmen of local government councils in the state, and eight Toyota buses to the state councils of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and some of their affiliate unions in the state.
The state government also donated a second-hand Toyota bus each for the paramount rulers of Tiv and Idoma respectively.
Presenting the vehicles to the beneficiaries at Government House, Makurdi, Governor Ortom explained that his administration resorted to the purchase of old vehicles for the beneficiaries because it could not afford the exorbitant cost of brand-new vehicles.
According to him, the 23 Corolla S cars, all together, did not cost up to ten million naira (N10,000,000.00) while one brand-new Corolla S car costs not less than forty-six million naira (46,000,000.00).
“The vehicles are not brand-new; they are vehicles that are fairly used. But that is where we are today in Nigeria, where we cannot afford to buy brand-new Toyota Camry vehicles, which is outrageous. I’m told that if we are to buy brand-new vehicles, it will be over forty million (N40,000,000) per one. But these vehicles, including everything put together, is less than ten million naira.
“We have to do that to make our vice chairmen mobile. It’s said that half a loaf is better than having nothing at all because if we are to buy the 23 vehicles at the cost of N46 million each, you can imagine the billions that would be spent. So, we have to resort to this,” Ortom explained.
The governor commended the 23 local government council chairmen in the state for making the funds available to purchase the vehicles for their deputies, stressing that they (vice chairmen) “are very critical in the local government administration. Apart from being second-in-command, they also support the chairmen to succeed. So, there’s every need to carry the vice-chairmen along,” he added.
Gov. Ortom also presented two buses to the palaces of the Tor Tiv and the Och’Idoma and stated that the vehicles were also made available by the 23 local government Chairmen in the state.
Governor Ortom said the second-hand buses for the NLC, TUC and some of their affiliates followed their request to the state government. In addition to the NLC and TUC, the unions that benefited from the vehicle donation include, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), State Joint Public Service Negotiating Council 1, 2 and 3, (SJPSNC), Benue Youth Parliament, and National Union of Women Society.
Ortom explained that the state government could not afford brand-new buses owing to high cost. “To get a brand-new bus in Nigeria today based on the exchange rate is a big challenge because it takes sixty million naira (N60,000,000) to get a brand-new bus,” Ortom lamented while presenting the vehicles to the unions.
Meanwhile the governor used the occasion to also present start-up kits to 43 youths of the state trained in automobile maintenance at the Innoson Kiara Academy, Nnewi, Anambra State.
Ortom tasked the beneficiaries on good use of the knowledge and the kits given to them to empower themselves and help the state.
He said the 23 local government areas in Benue State contributed money to sponsor the trainees and they also provided the kits to them to serve as start-up for their economic empowerment.
Ortom urged beneficiaries to remember to invest to be able to compete with several others ahead of them and to avoid becoming the devil’s workshop.
The governor noted that Nigeria has skills deficit as most of the artisans working in the country are from neighbouring countries who take whatever they make to their countries. He therefore tasked the beneficiaries to reduce the influx of artisans into the state.
Earlier, Special Adviser, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barr Kenneth Achabo, said that a total of forty million, seven hundred and thirty thousand, nine hundred and forty naira (N40,730,940) was spent on the youths’ training covering tuition and acquisition of the start-up kits.
Achabo said that the youths were selected from across the 23 LGAs but seven willingly withdrew from the training, while 43 received 6 months intensive training in different spheres of auto-oriented disciplines such as auto mechanic, auto-electrical and electronics, auto-fabrication and welding, and auto-spray painting.
He added that trainees obtained three different certificates in industrial training issued by Innoson Kiara Academy and NABTEB certificate issued by Technical Board.
The Special Adviser disclosed that complete sets of modern start-up kits worth N14,720,000 from the different auto-oriented disciplines were purchased for the 43 trainees.
