Ogun, GIZ Deepen Partnership to Sustain Job Creation, TVET, Enterprise Reforms
James Sowole in Abeokuta
The Ogun State Government, in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, has reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining key employment, enterprise development and technical education reforms through stronger institutional frameworks and strategic partnerships.
The commitment was made at the third Ogun State Partners Workshop in Abeokuta, where officials, development partners, private sector representatives and civil society groups reviewed progress recorded under the Sustainable Economic Development Cluster (SEDEC) programme and discussed measures to preserve its gains beyond the current implementation phase.
Speaking at the event, the Head of Component, Business Enabling Environment and Sustainable Infrastructure, GIZ SEDIN, Mr. Akinropo Omoware, who represented the Cluster Coordinator, Sustainable Economic Development Cluster (SEDEC), GIZ Nigeria, Dr. Didier Djoumessi Tchoffo, said the workshop was aimed at developing practical strategies for sustaining development interventions.
Omoware quoted Tchoffo as saying, “The sustainability of development interventions depends on strong institutions, committed partnerships and local ownership.
“This workshop provides an opportunity for stakeholders to reflect on progress, share lessons and jointly develop practical pathways that will ensure the achievements continue to benefit Ogun State long after programme implementation.”
He said the collaboration between the Ogun State Government and GIZ had led to major achievements, including the operationalisation of the Ogun State Job Centre in Abeokuta, the establishment of two additional job centres, the creation of the Ogun State Enterprise Development Agency, support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, export readiness initiatives and reforms in Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
In his remarks, the Ogun State Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment, Adebola Sofela, described GIZ as a critical development partner that had continued to support the state’s economic development agenda through entrepreneurship and institutional capacity building.
Sofela said, “GIZ is one of our development partners, and they have been collaborating with us on many government initiatives and programmes, including training and capacity development for our entrepreneurs and small-scale industries. They are also involved in the creation and establishment of the Enterprise Development Agency, which is a government institution that intervenes in the small-scale industry space.”
He added that collaboration between government and development partners remained essential to driving sustainable industrial growth, saying, “Development partners help in our development and support our industries along all value chains.
“What we are seeing today is a manifestation of the fact that government and the organised private sector must continuously collaborate, using their different resources and competencies for the overall development of the state.”
According to the commissioner, the impact of the partnership was already evident, expressing optimism that future collaborations would further strengthen institutions and ensure continuity of ongoing programmes across successive administrations.
On plans to safeguard the initiatives, Sofela said the state government was working towards providing a legal framework for the institutions established under the programme.
He said, “The intention is that we don’t just create institutions that fail to stand the test of time. We want to ensure successive governments can guarantee these institutions continuously run for the very reason they were created. Part of this process is to institutionalise these bodies by establishing them through an Act of law so they can receive statutory recognition and budgetary support, irrespective of changes in government or political leadership.”
Also speaking, the Director of Education, Department of Science and Technology, Mrs. Abosede Edun, who represented the Commissioner for Education, Hon. Abayomi Arigbabu, affirmed the positive impact of GIZ in the educational sector, saying that the reforms being implemented in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in the education sector are designed to endure beyond the lifespan of donor-funded programmes.
She noted that innovative teaching methods, upgraded workshop equipment and revised curricula introduced through the collaboration would be sustained as part of the state’s long-term education agenda.
Edun added that the initiatives would be fully integrated into its education policy framework to ensure continuity, stressing that teachers, instructors and industries must take ownership of the reforms.
