Chairman of Warri South Local Government Area, Dr Michael Tidi has urged the Nigerian Correctional Services to lay more emphasis on skills acquisition for inmates.

Tidi said with the current situation in the country where labour is needed more than ever before, training of youths, especially inmates in our Correctional Centres in various skills, was the only way out.

Tidi, made this statement when the new Deputy Controller of the Warri Correctional Centre, Etim Effiong, payed him a courtesy visit at the Warri South Council Secretariat, Warri, Wednesday.

Tidi said he was glad that the new Deputy Controller has plans to resuscitate skill acquisition workshops in the correctional Centre adding that this will go a long way in helping the inmates when they regain freedom.

“Hearing that you want to reactivate skills acquisition workshops in the centre is commendable. I want to plead that you should place less emphasis on paper certificate and more emphasis should be placed on skills acquisition. I say this because Nigeria is in great need of skilled labour.

“To me I believe that what will work for Nigeria right now is acquisition of labour intensive skills by our people. So when you engage them in these skills they will now come out as employers of labour. To many of us these are the kind of ideas we like to welcome,” Tidi said.

He also advocated for the return of schools to the missionaries stressing that “when the missionaries were managing the schools qualitative education was given to Nigerians unlike what we have today.”

“Reactivation of religious activities in our Correctional Centres as you said earlier in your speech cannot be overemphasized. If history is anything to go by you will agree with me that religion played a very active role in the quality education Nigerians had then

“This is why some of us are still calling for the return of our schools to the missionaries because while they were here doing their religious activities, Nigerians were able to also get quality education unlike what we have today,” Tidi said.

Tidi also promised the new Deputy Controller of the Warri Correctional Centre that the Council will assist them in making sure that the centre becomes one of the best in the country.

Earlier, the new Deputy Controller of the Warri Correctional Centre, Etim Effiong, said he decided to pay the Warri South Council Chairman the visit to keep him abreast of the development in the custodial centre.

He said he has lined up variety of activities he intends to revive at the correctional facility.

“Mr. Chairman, our open out this morning is 828 of which more than 50% are Awaiting Trial, 228 are Inmates on Death Row (IDR). Fram my statistics 95% of the inmates are from Delta State and a great percentage are residents of Warri south Local Government.

“We appreciate your assistance to the Custodial Centre in the past and your continuous goodwill and support. We have ear marked the following programmes for the Custodial Centre,” Effiong said.

Also present to receive the the new Deputy Controller of the Warri Correctional Centre were the the Head of Personnel Management of Warri South Local Government Council and Director of Administration, Dr. (Mrs.) Minnie Igbrude, Secretary to the Warri South Local Government Area, Mr. Joseph Oribioye and the Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, Warri South Council Chapter, Prince Raymond Emiko.