By Blessing Odega

The Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Mr Joseph Ari, says the fund has disbursed more than N24 billion as students and supervisors’ training allowances from 2016 to date.

Ari said this on Monday in Jos when the Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Plateau council, gave him an award of excellence in leadership and human capital development.

He said that given the fund’s integral role in the training of students of Engineering, Technology and other allied disciplines in tertiary institutions, the ITF had accorded priority attention to the management of the scheme.

Ari assured the public of the fund’s commitment to the prompt payment of students and supervisors’ allowances, “as soon as money is received from the Federal Government”.

He further said that the ITF had automated its business processes in a bid to facilitate business processes within the ITF and with its stakeholders.

He commended the chapel for finding him worthy of the award and dedicated the award to the entire workforce of the ITF for their dedication and resilience.

Earlier, the Correspondents’ Chapel chairman, Mr Gyang Bere, who presented the award to Ari, said that the award was in recognition of the ITF training of thousands of youths with requisite skills for employability and in turn to reduce unemployment. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Deborah Coker/Kayode Olaitan