By Yusufu Idegu, Jos
The leadership of he Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSACGOC) and Amalgamated Union Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Employees (AUPCTRE) have showered encomium on the Director General and Chief Executive of the Industrial Training Fund, (ITF), Sir Joseph Ari for birthing the first indigenous Android mobile phone in Nigeria.
A statement by the Director of Public Affairs Department of ITF Suleyol Chagu said the President of SSACGOC, Comrade Kayode Alakija and Acting Chairman of AUPCTRE, Comrade Lawal Mohammed Ado both led the union executive to ITF wednesday morning to honor the DG in his office.
The statement reads, “The union leaders in their separate congratulatory messages said ITF on the hand of Sir Joseph Ari deserved praises having reached milestone in the pursuant of the mandate of ITF by taking the lead in the industrialisation drive of the country.
The union leaders who presented a designed congratulatory card to the DG during their visit urged the DG to quickly mass produce the product and make it accessible to all Nigerians so as to ease the high price of the product in the market.
The DG, Sir Ari, expressed appreciation to the staff of the Fund for identifying and supporting the efforts of management.
Sir Ari informed the visitors that ITF is set to acquire machinery for mass production of ITF mobile phone.
He said, “In a bid to commence the mass production and launch into market the ITF mobile, the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has initiated processes for the procurement and installation of a production line specially dedicated for that purpose at the ITF Model Skills Training Centre (MSTC), Abuja.
“Since the symbolic presentation of the ITF mobile to President Muhammadu Buhari, the ITF has been inundated with requests for partnership from corporate entities within the country.
“I have given directive to the Director of Technical and Vocational Skills Training Department, who is also the Zonal Director of the ITF MSTC to get all the immediate machines so that we will be able to set up the production line”, he said.
He added that, “Since the good news, we’ve also received a lot of requests for partnership, including one from AfriOne, “who want to partner with us. This is good as we cannot do it alone because we are not an island unto ourselves. The main thing is that this product is a home grown product and this lends credence to the fact that we too can do it in Nigeria
The DG stressed the need for continuous dialogue as recipe for industrial harmony, saying, “The relationship between the ITF management and the two unions gives credence to the fact that it pays to dialogue. When there is an issue, we look at it critically, where we feel that yours (the unions) is a superior argument, we bend and go your way.
“When we feel that you may not have got all the information correct, we invite you for dialogue and you understand. So you are also a part of this progress because gone are the days where things were not done in tune with the expectations and the mandate of the Fund. We want to thank you”.
Highlight of the visit was the presentation of a congratulatory card to the Director-General by the Union Leaders.
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