IMPACT OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT AGENCIES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENUERSHIP IN ENUGU STATE NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study surveyed the impact of Federal Government support agencies on the development of Entrepreneurship in Enugu State, Nigeria. The main objective is to investigate the impact of Federal government support agencies in the development of entrepreneurship in Enugu State. This study specifically investigated how SMEDAN, NDE, NAPEP, NERFUND, and ITF influenced the development of entrepreneurship in Enugu state. The researcher adopted survey research design. Data were collected by questionnaire structured in the Five Point Likert Scale format and interview.  The sources of data were through primary and secondary sources.  The population  of  the  study  was  22,850  consisting  of  the  beneficiaries  of  government  support agencies in the category of micro, small, and medium enterprises in Enugu State, Nigeria. specifically this study focused on the micro enterprises which has a population of 889.    Sample size of 268 was derived by the application of Cochran’s formula for finite population while Bowley’s proportional allocation method was adopted to determine the allocation of questionnaire to respondents that have benefited from each organization. .  A test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of questionnaire using Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation Coefficient.    The  result  gave  a  reliability  coefficient  of  0.87.    The  five  hypotheses  were formulated and tested through Simple linear regression for hypotheses 1 and 3 while hypotheses

2 and 4 were tested by Pearson Product  Moment Correlation Coefficient.  at 0.05 level of significance.   Some of the findings include that SMEDAN affects the establishment of micro businesses, there is relationship between NDE and the drive for self-employment, NAPEP affects business ideas generation.   This study concludes that encouraging SMES through various agencies remains a sine qua non for inclusive and socially sustainable development.  This study recommends that the management of SMEDAN should strategically position themselves through proper planning and articulating policy ideas for micro, small and medium enterprises growth and development by adequately stimulating, monitoring and coordinating the development of the SMES sector especially in Enugu state.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Entrepreneurship is a part of economic development strategy employed by several countries globally  to  achieve  macro-economic  benefits  (Obaji  and  Olugu,  2014).Schumpeter  (1934) defines entrepreneurship, as making new combinations which include the introduction of new goods; new methods of production; opening of new markets; new sources of supply and; new organizations. Entrepreneurship means the recognition or creation of business opportunities and the exploitation of the opportunities through new firm creation (Fukugawa, 2013). An entrepreneur on the other hand is any person who creates or develops a new business in the face of risk and uncertainties in the business environment for the purpose of wealth creation by identification of wealth opportunities and assemblage of the necessary factors of production to actualize the opportunities (Agbaeze, 2007).Government support agencies on the other hand comprises of federal, states and local governments set up agencies specifically with the responsibilities of sourcing and making funds available for the promotion and development of entrepreneurship. The support agencies vary in degree and scope in accordance with the laws that established them and are charged with various functions and roles. Some of these agencies provide loans ranging for small and medium scale industries from short-term basis to long-term including advisory support to the beneficiary. Sometimes, they equally provide technical and manpower supports to make sure that the objectives are achieved.

Hence, the importance of entrepreneurship development in several economies globally cannot be over-emphasized and as such, majority of countries worldwide have established programmes to support entrepreneurship within their communities. It has been established that entrepreneurship is a very vital ingredient for job creation as well as economic development. The success of income   generation   for   the   major   groups   of   both   rural   and   urban   inhabitants   is   on

entrepreneurship except for few governments and associated employees. Kumar and Liu (2005) studies reveal that entrepreneurial sector contribution to employment and GDP is on the increase. In particular, the role of SMEs is even more important since SMEs often offer the only realistic prospects for creating additional employment and thus reducing poverty and  enhancing the quality of lives (Shokan, 1997; Ogbo and Agu, 2012).

A healthy SME sub-sector is a sine qua non for inclusive and socially sustainable development even  though  institutions  that  provide  support  services  where  available  are  often  limited  in capacity  and  coverage  in  developing  economies  (Ogbo  and  Agu,  2012).In  the  case  of government  support  policies,  it  is  assumed  that  since  government  is  in  the  lead  for entrepreneurial development, it should provide the much needed resources within its capability. Such resources include provision of environment conducive to business that will highly promote entrepreneurship (Obaji and Olugu, 2014).

Small and medium scale industries after many years of government interest in Nigeria still face several  challenges  such  as  acute  short  of  technology,  managerial  skills,  poor  management, adverse environment, and change in policy while capital is still a source of great concern to the entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Some of the goals of the Nigerian government are economic growth, poverty reduction, development of skills and empowerment of youths and women; the Federal government decided to establish support agencies for these objectives in order to anchor its programmes on entrepreneurship development through them. These support agencies abound in Enugu State. Some of these Federal government agencies in Enugu State include: National Directorate of Employment (NDE) was set up by the federal government in November in 1986 to work out strategies for dealing with the country especially school leavers and college graduates, its initial care programmes were formally lunched on 30th January 1987 NDE has the mandate of designing and implementing programmes to combat mass unemployment; articulating policies aimed at developing work programmes with labour intensive potentials and; obtaining and maintaining a data bank on employment and vacancies in the country with a view to acting as a

clearing  house  to  link  job  seekers  with  vacancies  in  collaboration  with  other  government agencies. The aforementioned mandates are yet to be achieved today. For instance, the National Youth Employment and Vocational Skill Development Programme under NDE emanated from the realization that the majority of the unemployed are youth without productive and marketable skills which till today remains unachieved.

Also, National Open Apprenticeship Scheme was aimed at providing unemployed youths with basic  skill  that  are needed  in  the economy.  This would  be achieved  by attaching them  as apprentices to companies, ministries, parastatals and professional craftsmen and women, some of them are given admission into vocational training institutions or centers to learn a trade but today the reverse is the case. Again, Wastes to Health Scheme was created to encourage the conversion of neglected raw materials into useful, marketable products but today, the scheme remains a white elephant project.

The Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency of Nigerian (SMEDAN) was designed to encourage and aid unemployed Nigeria to set up and run their own business; to help the participants translate their business ideas into viable commercial ventures. NDE conduct courses for them through its job creation loan guarantee scheme and mature people‟s scheme. The objectives of this programme among others include to develop a pool of potential entrepreneurs who are well equipped to start and successfully manage small and medium scale industries; encouraging self-employment as a conscious and predetermined choice and; generate employment opportunities for others. The programme today remains a conduit pipe for siphoning government fund as well as exploiting desperate job-seekers in the country. Furthermore, the Industrial Training Funds (ITF) was established in the year 1971 under the Industrial Training Fund Act with the objective of promoting and encouraging the acquisition of necessary skills needed for establishment of small scale enterprises and other business in Nigeria. Yet, ITF remains complacent in their statutory functions today.

The National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) on the other hand was a fund set up by the federal government to provide loan to small and medium scale industries project in Nigeria but today, their impact is very intangible.

Following the adoption of Economic reform programme in Nigeria in 1981, there have been several decisions to switch from capital intensive and large scale industrial projects which was based on the philosophy of import development to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises which have better prospects for developing domestic economy, thereby generating the required goods and services that will propel the economy of Nigeria towards development. Small and Medium Scale Enterprises constitute essential ingredients in the lubrication and development of any economy. Government over the years has formulated a number of policies aimed at developing Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. While most policies actually failed due to poor implementation, others however, succeeded (Oni, 2012).

Experiences  of  developed  economies  in  relation  to  the  roles  played  by  entrepreneurship buttresses the fact that the importance of entrepreneurship cannot be overemphasized especially among the Developing Countries. Entrepreneurship has been variously referred to as a source of employment generation. Entrepreneurial activities have been found to be capable of making positive impact on the economy of a nation and the quality of life of the people (Adejumo,

2001). Onyenebo and Ezeano (2011), states that entrepreneurship performs numerous roles in business, in the society and overall development. In fact all factors of production (labour, land and capital) would be rendered ineffective and unproductive without entrepreneurship development.

Nigeria as a country has numerous business and investment potentials due to the abundant, vibrant  and  dynamic  human  and  natural  resources  it  possesses.  The  performance  and effectiveness of entrepreneurs in the country as an instrument of economic growth and development has long been under scrutiny. This intense scrutiny has been against the backdrop

of  the  low  performance  and  inefficiency  that  characterized  small  business  particularly  in assessing its role on economic growth and development. The need for entrepreneurship development in the country today is necessitated by the fact that entrepreneurship development is a major factor in economic growth and development and also the permanent cure for extreme hunger and poverty necessitated by unemployment (Okoye-Nebo, Iloanya and Udunze, 2014).

Entrepreneurial ability and leadership tend to be relatively lacking in Nigeria as a result of many factors affecting its growth and development. However, Nigeria still falls far short of the economic and social progress required to impact the wellbeing of the average Nigerian given that over half of Nigeria‟s population live on less than one dollar a day.  Nigeria is also one of the top three countries in the world that have the largest population of poor people. In addition Nigeria remains off track on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including the goal of halving the number of people who live in extreme poverty. The economic reforms have not been  sufficient  to  reverse  years  of  economic  decline,  deteriorating  capacity,  weakened institutions and inadequate infrastructure investment while the dramatic stock market decline have accentuated the situation. Despite all the efforts of government, progress of entrepreneurs in Nigeria is still limited due to financial, infrastructural and business climate challenges (Okeke and Eme, 2014).

In Nigeria, people are no longer suffering and smiling, as the musician, Fela Kuti sang, but, suffering and dying. Hence, the growing incidences of poverty and concomitant problems in Nigeria are, indeed, critical issues of concern and contention. The bulk of the matter hinges upon finding apt solutions and strategies to open up and unburden human beings from abject poverty. Thus, numerous ways are sought, to rapidly and timely enhance human capacity (Iwuoha and Obi, 2012).

1.2 Statement of Problem

In Enugu State, Federal Government claims that it had invested massively on entrepreneurship growth and development, poverty among the citizenry seems to be on the increase. Federal Government Agencies for the development of entrepreneurship abound in the State without gainful employment. To worsen the situation, entrepreneurship development in the State appears not to show remarkable advancement commensurate with the multiplicity of agencies established and funded by the government for their support. Statistical evidence also shows that many of entrepreneurial establishments in the State fail after few years and yet,  government expenditure in the support and financing of the agencies remains on the increase.

This situation in Enugu State, Nigeria is worrisome and if nothing is done to make good the situation, there is possibility that Enugu State will likely continue to suffer great economic hardship occasioned by continuous failure of entrepreneurial set ups. These developments stated above have caught the attention of the children, youths and adults in Enugu State. Both old and young are seen in villages, cities, market places, schools and farms discussing the future of entrepreneurship development since   not much have been achieved given the huge financial investment in the sector so far. This has necessitated this study to find out why in spite of the collective efforts of Federal, State and Local governments, the impact is not felt.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The broad objective of this study is to investigate the impact of Federal government support agencies on the development of entrepreneurship in Enugu State. The specific objectives of the study are to determine the:

i.      Extent of the effect of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigerian

(SMEDAN) on the establishment of micro businesses in Enugu State, Nigeria.

ii.      Nature of the relationship between  activities of the National Directorate of Employment

(NDE) and self-employment in Enugu State, Nigeria.

iii.     The effect of National  Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) on business ideas‟

generation in Enugu State, Nigeria.

iv.      Extent of the relationship between National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND)

and financing of Small Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSE) in Enugu State, Nigeria. v.      Effect of Industrial Training Funds (ITF) on business skill acquisition.

1.4 Research Questions

To achieve the research objectives, the following questions were formulated for the study:

i.   To what extent does SMEDAN affect the establishment of micro businesses in Enugu

State, Nigeria?

ii.  What is the nature of the relationship between NDE and self-employment in Enugu State, Nigeria?

iii. What is the degree of the effect of NAPEP on business ideas‟ generation in Enugu State,

Nigeria?

iv.  What is the extent of the relationship between NERFUND and financing of SMSE in

Enugu State, Nigeria?

v.   What effect does Industrial Training Funds (ITF) have on business skill acquisition?

1.5 Hypotheses

In this study, five hypotheses are formulated in line with the objectives of the study and research questions. They are:

i.      H1: SMEDAN to a great extent promotes the establishment of micro businesses in Enugu

State, Nigeria.

ii.      H1: There is positive and significant relationship between NDE and the self-employment in Enugu State, Nigeria.

iii.     H1:      NAPEP to a great extent enhance business ideas‟ generation in Enugu State,

Nigeria.

iv.      H1: NERFUND to a  great extent have a positive and significant relationship in the funding of SMES

v.      H1:    Industrial  Training  Funds  (ITF)  to  a  great  extent  affect  business  skill acquisition in Enugu, Nigeria.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study will be of great value to the following:

Students and Researchers: This study would be relevant to both students and researchers as it would serve as basis and guide for further studies.

Organizations: Both government and non-governmental organizations would find this study very helpful in formulation of programmes and policies and in the development of entrepreneurship in Enugu State and beyond.

The researcher: The successful completion would lead to the award of Master of Science (M.Sc.) Degree in Management of the Department of Management, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.   It will also serve as an academic and intellectual contribution to knowledge.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The aim of every research is to provide an answer(s) to an identified problem(s) which would provide basis for future plans or action in a similar or related problem(s). Hence, this study examined the impact of selected Federal government support agencies on the development of entrepreneurship in Enugu State. The study reviewed past literature in a bid to accomplish the broad and specific objectives of the study. Specifically, this study addressed some of the following: types of entrepreneurship, roles of entrepreneurs in the economic development, entrepreneurship  development  stages,  need  and  characteristics  of entrepreneurship,  scope of

entrepreneurship, various government support agencies and their functions and     problems     of Nigerian entrepreneurs. The empirical review will be based on related studies. The geographical area of the study was   limited to Enugu State while the Federal government Agencies for the development of entrepreneurship in the State  served as our focal points in our review. However, the specific agencies  include SMEDAN, NDE, NAPEP and NERFUND. The time scope is from

2005 to 2015.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

Every research does envisage the emergence of certain limitations/constraints in the course of the work. Such limitations/constraints include the under listed:

i.         Dearth of research materials especially empirical works

ii.  Negative attitude of respondents both from the staff of the agencies and uninformed entrepreneurs.

iii. Inaccurate records/statistics of beneficiaries of their organizations.

1.9   Operational Definition of Terms

Entrepreneurship Development: Growing, expanding, improving as well as advancing the fortunes of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship: Creative and innovative ideas or activities that transforms to wealth leading to substantial or significant empowerment of the entrepreneur.

Enugu State: One of the South-East States of Nigeria bounded in the east by Ebonyi and Abia states, in the west by Anambra state, in the north Kogi and Benue states and in the South by Ebonyi state.

Federal Government: This is the central government of Nigeria and is commonly referred to as

Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Support Agencies: Governments agencies charged with the responsibility of entrepreneur development in Nigeria.

1.10  Profile of the Selected Government Support Agencies

Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigerian (SMEDAN): The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) was established by the SMEDAN  Act  of  2003  to  promote  the  development  of  the  MSME  sector  of  the  Nigeria Economy.  The Agency positions  itself  as  a One Stop  Shop  for Micro  Small  and  Medium Enterprises in Nigeria (MSME) Development. Micro Enterprises are included in the clientele of the Agency since they form the bedrock for SME’s Their vision was “to establish a structured and efficient micro, small and medium enterprises sector that will enhance sustainable economic development of Nigeria” while their mission was “to facilitate the access of micro, small and medium   entrepreneurs   and   investors   to   all   resources   required   for   their  development”. Justification for their existence emanated from poverty, due to lack of access to income earning opportunities and lack of capacity to take advantage of the opportunities, is a social malaise that is threatening global prosperity in general and national economic growth and development in particular. A well-developed MSMEs sector has proven to be one of the most veritable channels to combat poverty. The establishment of SMEDAN is therefore justified by the need to trigger the development of Nigeria’s MSMEs in a structured and efficient manner (http://www.smedan.gov.ng/index.php/who-we-are). SMEDAN  functions  include:  stimulating, monitoring  and  coordinating  development  of  the  MSMES  sector;  initiating  and  articulating policy ideas for micro, small and medium enterprises growth and development; promoting and facilitating development programes instruments and support services to accelerate the development and modernization of MSME operation; serving as vanguard for rural industrialization, poverty, reduction, job creation and enhance sustainable livelihoods; linking SMES to internal and external source of finance, appropriate technology, technical skills as well as to large enterprise; promoting information and providing access to industrial infrastructure such as layout incubators, industrial parks; intermediating between MSMES and the Government SMEDAN is voice of the MSMES and; working in concert with other institutions both public

and private sectors to create a good enabling environment of business in general and MSME

activities in particular (http://www.Smedan.org).

National  Directorate  of  Employment  (NDE)  was  set  up  by  the  federal  government  in November in 1986 to work out strategies for dealing with the country especially school leavers and college graduates, its initial care programmes were formally lunch on 30th  January 1987

NDE  has  the  following  mandate‟s: to  design  and  implement  programmes  to  combat  mass unemployment;  to  articulate  policies  aimed  at  developing  work  programmes  with  labour intensive potentials and; to obtain and maintain a data bank on employment and vacancies in the country with a view to acting as a clearing house to link job seekers with vacancies in collaboration with other government agencies (http://nde.org.ng/about-us/).NDE commenced full operation in January 1987. NDE comes up with some programmes to generate or develop self- employment. These were: (I). Special Public Work Programme (II). Small Scale Industries (SSI), (III). Agriculture and (IV);. Youth Employment and Vocational Skills development. The programme run two credit schemes proposed by an entrepreneur development programme to support the development of SMEs sector. The two credit scheme for Graduate Loan Scheme (GLS) for job creation, and for the Mature People‟s Scheme (MPS). The facilities that was provided under the two scheme was repaid over five year‟s period at a reasonable interest rate. SMEs projects include food processing, flour milling, soap making, and the rest (Mohammed, Aminu, Rahama, Kamalu, Murtala, Ibrahim, Farouk, Salihu, and Lawan, 2015)

The NDE has articulated a number of programmes that give effect to government objective of generating employment. The aim of the programmes is to assist applicants in setting up their own business in agriculture small scale industries etc and to enable them employ additional hands in their establishment, thus helping to reduce the level of unemployment. These programmes are backed up by necessary administration monitoring and support personnel thus enabling optimum use of resources and prompt response to equipment of the public. The directorate employs different  strategies  which  include  training  and  retraining  of  un-skilled  youths,  promoting

entrepreneurship development programmes and providing credit facilities. NDE achieves these through the implementation of four well-articulated programmes namely: National youth employment and vocational skill development programe; small scale industrial and graduate employment programme; Agriculture sector employment programs and; Special public work programs (http://nde.org.ng/about-us/).It is on record that hundreds of thousands of youths have benefited from the NDE scheme through its four-pronged approach that include Vocational Acquisition  Training  (673,000),  Entrepreneurial  (Business)  training  (373,366),  Training  for Rural Employment and Training for Labour-Based works programme.In 2000 alone, NDE reported that 21,708 youths received training in vocational skills in 36 states of the federation and Abuja, while 5,075 graduated in different trades (Arogundade, Adebisi and Ogunro, 2011).

National Poverty Eradication Programme-NAPEP

Failure of the economic policy framework to significantly reduce the poverty index in Nigeria, and in compliance with the MDGs directives, the Obasanjo civilian regime established NAPEP in 2001. NAPEP was to involve all stakeholders in poverty eradication in Nigeria namely the federal, state and local governments, civil society organizations, research institutions, the organized private sector, women groups, and concerned individuals (Okoye and Onyeukwu,

2007;Iwuoha and Obi, 2012). Besides, the stakeholders recognized that certain fundamental reasons were responsible for the inadequacy of anti-poverty measures over years; these include the   absence   of   a   policy   framework,   inadequate   involvement   of   stakeholders,   poor implementation   arrangements   and   lack   of   proper   coordination   (Okoye   and   Onyukwu,

2007;Iwuoha and Obi, 2012).

All of these seem to have received attention in designing NAPEP and to make it different from all past efforts. As a federal government sponsored project, NAPEP was to be subsequently launched in various states of the federation including Enugu State. As a result, Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) that aimed at capacity enhancement through provision of job training opportunities to graduates and school leavers was implemented in Enugu State amidst

other numerous programmes of the NAPEP (Francis and Nweze, 2003;Iwuoha and Obi, 2012). Though the scheme had been establishment in 2001, it recorded various degrees of achievements in training the unemployed, the growing incidence of poverty in Nigeria including especially Enugu State, where report indicates 31.12% increase in report (NBS, 2007; Iwuoha and Obi,

2012).

National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) in the year 2000 which took off in 2001. It was aimed at eradicating absolute poverty and it consist of four schemes namely; Youth Empowerment Scheme, Rural Infrastructures and Development Scheme; Social Welfare Services Scheme; Rural Resources Development and; Conservation Scheme. To implement thus programmes, the government placed emphasis on complementation, collaboration and coordination between the various tiers of government on the one hand and between government, Donor/Agencies, non-governmental organizations and local communities on the other. A multi- agency implementation structure with coordination, monitoring and evaluating organ was introduced  in  order  to  ensure  cost  effective  delivery  target  with  optimal  social  benefit. Particularly this programme, NAPEP is being implemented in Nigeria till date (http://chituaeconomist.blogspot.com.ng/2010/04/impact-of-national-poverty-eradication.html).

National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND):

The  National  Economic  Reconstruction  Fund  (NERFUND)  was  set  up  to  provide  needed medium – to long-term financing to viable Small and Medium scale production enterprises. The grand objectives are to increase the quantum of goods and services available for local consumption and export, provide needed employment, expand our production base and add value to the economy. In the words of our President, Commander-in-Chief “the NERFUND is not another cake-sharing exercise. It is designed to aid in the cake-baking process, and as such, fund disbursements by the NERFUND will be based on competitive efficiency”.

Since there is more demand for the NERFUND loans than the resources currently available can satisfy, only the most viable projects may benefit from the programme. Your challenge is to put

together one of the most viable projects to benefit from the NERFUND programme. The NERFUND has been very successful in re-orientating the nation towards a production culture from the old trading culture. So far, the NERFUND has approved loans for one thousand four hundred and ninety seven projects, valued at over five billion naira (N5b) and disbursed to one thousand three hundred and thirty two projects, valued at four billion, five hundred million naira (N4.5b). This figure excludes those of legacy projects which were sanctioned in the first decade of the Fund‟s operation between 1989 and 1999.

The National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) was established by Decree No. 2 of

1989 to act as a catalyst towards the stimulation of the rapid rise of real production enterprises in the country.  The NERFUND was specifically mandated to provide long/medium term loans to entrepreneurs through commercial/merchant banks for industrial growth of Nigeria.   For the delivery of these services, the institution focused on its vision, mission and mandate as stipulated by its decree (http://www.nerfund.com.ng/NERFUND-Welcome).Their vision is to build a world class   Development   Finance   Institution   (DFI)   anchored   on   professionalism,   integrity, transparency and quality service delivery.

The Mission of NERFUND is to support the growth of indigenous Micro, Small and Medium scale industrial Enterprises through the provision of medium to long term financing. The main objective of the fund was to fill the gap existing in the provision of medium to long term financing to small and medium scale industrial enterprises (SMEs). Other objectives for establishing NERFUND are listed as follows: correct any observed inadequacies in the provision of medium to long-term financing to small and medium – scale industrial enterprises, especially manufacturing and agro-allied enterprises and ancillary services; provide medium to long-term loans to participating commercial and merchant banks for on-lending to small and medium-scale enterprises  for the promotion and acceleration   of productive activities in such enterprises; facilitate the provision of loans with five to ten year maturity, including a grace period of one to three years, depending on the nature of the enterprise or project;  provide such loans either in

naira or in foreign currencies or both according to the sources of funds available to the Fund and the requirements of the eligible enterprise or project (http://www.nerfund.com.ng/page?id=23).

Enugu State: Enugu State, South-East of Nigeria, is one of the thirty-six States constituting the Nigerian Federation. It came into being on August 27, 1991 when the administration of President Ibrahim Babangida finally acquiesced to the long agitations of Waawa people for a State they could truly call their own. Enugu State derives its name from the capital city, Enugu (top of the hill) which is regarded as the oldest urban area in the Igbo speaking area of Southeast Nigeria. The city owes its geopolitical significance to the discovery of coal in 1909 by a team of British geologists. The discovery of the solid mineral in the area brought about the emergence of a permanent cosmopolitan settlement which influenced the construction of a railway line to link the Enugu coal fields with the sea port in Port Harcourt for the export of the mineral.

Enugu State is one of the States in the Eastern part of Nigeria. The State shares borders with Abia State and Imo State to the south, Ebonyi State to the east, Benue State to the northeast, Kogi State to the northwest and Anambra State to the west. Enugu, the capital city of Enugu State, is approximately 2½ driving hours away from Port Harcourt, where coal shipments exited Nigeria.  Enugu  is  also  located  within  an  hour’s  drive  from  Onitsha,  one  of  the  biggest commercial cities in Africa and 2hours drive from Aba, another very large commercial city, both of which are trading centers in Nigeria. The average temperature in this city is cooler in its cooler months and gets warmer to hot in its warmer months (upper 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and very good for outdoor activities with family and friends or just for personal leisure. Enugu has good soil and climatic conditions all year round, sitting at about 223 meters (732 ft.) above sea level, and the soil is well drained during its rainy seasons.

The mean temperature in Enugu State in the hottest month of February is about 87.16 °F (30.64

°C), while the lowest temperatures occur in the month of November, reaching 60.54 °F (15.86

°C). The lowest rainfall of about 0.16 cubic centimeters (0.0098 cu in) is normal in February, while the highest is about 35.7 cubic centimeters (2.18 cu in) in July. The name of State derives from its capital city, Enugu. The word “Enugu” (from Enu Ugwu) means “the top of the hill”. The first European settlers arrived in the area in 1909, led by a British mining engineer, Albert Kitson. In his quest for silver, he discovered coal in the Udi Ridge. Colonial Governor of Nigeria Frederick Lugard took keen interest in the discovery, and by 1914 the first shipment of coal was made to Britain. As mining activities increased in the area, a permanent cosmopolitan settlement emerged, supported by a railway system. Enugu acquired township status in 1917 and became strategic to  British  interests.  From  Enugu  the British  administration  was  able to  spread  its influence over the Southern Province of Nigeria.

The colonial past of Enugu is today evidenced by the Georgian building types and meandering narrow roads within the residential area originally reserved for the whites, an area which is today called the Government Reserved Area (GRA). From being the capital of the Southern Provinces, Enugu became the capital of the Eastern Region (now divided into nine States), the capital of now defunct Federal Republic of Biafra, thereafter, the capital of East Central State, Anambra State, (old) Enugu State, and now the capital of the present Enugu State through a process of state creation and diffusion of administrative authority.

The State Government and the Local Government are the two levels of government in Enugu State and in all other states of Nigeria. The government is headed by governor who is above a group of commissioners who he has placed as heads of ministries that oversee various portfolios such as Health and Housing; both the governor and the commissioners form the Executive Council of Enugu State. Government House, Enugu is where the government of the state is based.Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (popularly known as “Gburugburu”) is the recent Governor of the State. (Source: http://www.enugustate.gov.ng/aboutenugu.php).

The Industrial Training Funds (ITF)

This was established in the year 1971 under the industrial training fund act. The objective of which is to promote and encourage the acquisition of necessary skills needed for establishment of small scale enterprises and other business in Nigeria. According to the ITF policy statement No 1 issued by the governing council of 1873, the duties and functions of ITF include:

(a)  Encourage   greater   involvement   of  employee‟s  particularly  small   employers  in   the organization and direction of group training scheme and this center on certain critical areas of economic activity.

(b) Working out a co-operation machinery with industrial and commerce whereby students in institution of higher learning undertake mid-career work experience attachment in industry on project which are compatible with their areas of study.

(c) Bearing a proportion of the direct cost of on the job and off the job training of Nigerian employees undergoing training courses organized by the ITF.

(d) Seeking to harmonize all its training effort and support with the activities of formal training institutions as well as utilize their facilities for clearly defined job oriented programme.

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