Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has called on the Federal Government to introduce skill acquisition programs in correctional facilities nationwide.
According to the former governor of Anambra State, such initiatives will rehabilitate inmates and enable them to contribute meaningfully to society.
Obi made this appeal in a post on his X account on Thursday after visiting the ‘Nigerian Correctional Centre in Onitsha’ on Christmas Day.
He noted that empowering inmates with skills would prepare them for more constructive lives post-incarceration.
Obi wrote: “In tradition with my policy of celebrating with the distressed in our society, during seasons of celebration, yesterday being Christmas, I visited the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Onitsha, where I joined the Archbishop of Onitsha and Grand Patron of the Nigerian Correctional Centres, to spend time and interact with our brothers and sisters undergoing rehabilitation in the center.
“I was impressed, on my visit today, to see that, through the intervention of Archbishop Okeke, their Skill Acquisition Centre is fully operational, and the inmates are already being equipped with different productive skills. Aside from the Skill Acquisition Centre, I was happy to learn that the inmates can now take their National Business and Technical Examinations Board examinations at the Centre. Moreover, the National Open University of Nigeria now has its study center in the correctional facility.
“As one who believes deeply in human development through education as a critical tool for national development, I find the establishment of these educational facilities very commendable. I sincerely appreciate Archbishop Valerian Okeke for his constant intervention and immeasurable contributions to the correctional facility, and society at large.
“I urge the government to replicate such positive developments across the other correctional centers in the country. This will greatly go a long way in rehabilitating the inmates, who are mainly youths in the correctional facilities, and prepare them to live more positive lives and contribute productively to societal development.”