The Katsina State Government has expressed willingness to partner with the Federal Polytechnic, Daura, and also Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, in launching skills acquisition programmes for students and unemployed youths in the State.
Governor Dikko Umaru Radda made this known when he received the management teams of the Dutsin-Ma university and Daura polytechnic, who separately paid him a courtesy visit at the Katsina State Government House.
According to Radda, his administration is determined to address the unemployment crisis in the State, in order to help tackle the problem of insecurity and youth restiveness among Katsina youths.
The Governor also disclosed that the State Government plans to release the popular Songhai Integrated Farms at Dutsin-Ma and Funtua to the private sector to help drive his administration’s agricultural blueprint for Katsina.
“In order to mitigate the hardship of transportation faced by students of both Federal Polytechnic Daura and Federal University Dutsin-Ma, we shall be providing brand new buses to the Katsina State Transport Authority KATSTA, which will ply the Daura and Dutsin-Ma routes daily.
“To the management of the Federal Polytechnic Daura, I wish to inform you that the pledge of N25 million the administration of former Governor Aminu Bello Masari made to your institution, will soon be redeemed,” he said.
During their separate visits to Governor Radda, the Vice Chancellor of Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Prof. Ahmed Armaya’u Bichi, and Provost of Federal Polytechnic Daura, Prof. Aliyu Mamman, said they were at the Government House to rejoice with the Katsina State Chief Executive, on his victory at the last general elections.
Prof. Bichi, noted that the leasing of the Songhai Integrated Farm in Dutsin-Ma will allow for the operation of various agriculture and skill acquisition programs that will empower teeming Katsina youths.
On one hand, Prof. Mamman, appreciated the State Government for providing their institution with a take-off land, and also the school the polytechnic used as its temporary site.
He said their Daura federal polytechnic now runs a lot of academic programmes with about 350 teaching and non-teaching staff, mostly indigenes of Katsina.
“We wish to appreciate the Katsina State Government for also giving us another 20 hectares of land, which we are using for our demonstration farm.
“At the moment, our polytechnic has now moved to its permanent site, barely four years after it was established by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari,” he said.
