…Says delay in assent deepens Gombe’s unemployment crisis
By Auwal Ilyasu, Gombe
A Gombe lawmaker has warned that millions of naira worth of skill acquisition centres across the state risk rotting away unless the governor assents to a bill establishing the Human Capital Skill Acquisition and Rehabilitation Agency.
Comrade Mustapha Usman Hassan, member representing Gombe South Constituency, said he sponsored the bill to revive abandoned training facilities and create a central agency to coordinate skill acquisition programmes. Passed by the House early last year, the legislation has remained on Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya’s desk for nearly two years without assent.
Hassan explained that the legislation, passed by the Assembly early last year, was designed to consolidate skill acquisition facilities scattered across Gombe, many of which have been abandoned due to lack of funding and coordination. According to him, once operational, the agency would coordinate projects initiated by federal lawmakers, the state, and even local governments, bringing them under one umbrella for sustainability.
“We have so many abandoned skill acquisition projects, constituency projects by senators, House of Representatives members, and state government initiatives. They were built, equipped, but today they lie unused. What we are proposing is a mega agency that will take charge, maintain these facilities, and make sure our youth benefit from them,” Hassan said.
The lawmaker stated this while speaking in an interview with newsmen during a town hall meeting, organised by Breach Initiative for Good Governance in collaboration with Advocacy Centre for Development in Gombe.
He explained, the agency would operate from a state headquarters with branches in all 11 local government areas. It would provide training for unemployed youth, secondary school dropouts, and even serve as a rehabilitation platform for young people involved in drug abuse or criminal activities.
“This bill is not just about training skills like shoemaking, tailoring, welding or fashion design; it is about reducing crime and giving young people an opportunity to become productive citizens,” he added.
The lawmaker expressed disappointment that despite the Assembly’s passage of the bill, it has yet to secure assent from Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya. He attributed the delay to the tendency for executive-sponsored bills to receive quicker attention than those initiated by legislators.
He said, “Executive bills often move faster because the government has direct interest in them. But for private member bills like mine, you must keep lobbying to align your interest with that of the executive. That is what I am doing, and Insha Allah, I believe it will be assented to,” Hassan noted.
He argued that funding should no longer be an excuse for abandoning projects, as the new agency would provide a structure for sustainable financing through annual budgetary allocations. “It is a waste of resources to build facilities and then leave them unused. With this agency, all those investments will come alive again,” he stressed.
Hassan further called on the state government to consider the bill a priority, describing it as a long-term solution to unemployment, poverty, and social vices in Gombe.
The post Unemployment crisis: Gombe Lawmaker pushes for Skill Agency Bill appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.
