By John Ugo, Awka.
More than twenty two thousand persons have applied for vacancies to work under the incoming administration of Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo which becomes operational on March 17th 2022.
Mr. Joe Anatune, the Media Assistant to Prof. Soludo, confirmed this in Awka the Anambra state capital.
He stated that sixteen thousand applicants have so far been recorded as at Friday last week.
He explained that twenty one thousand was recorded as at Monday morning, adding that as at the end of Monday about one thousand persons more had also applied for more jobs.
It would be recalled that an online application form was launched as Anambra Talent Hunt inviting applicants to make available their personal data and job specifications which expired on February 28th.
Anatune explained that the talent hunt is a kind of data base that would be in the custody of the state government whereby applicants would be employed for a specific job opportunity as the need arises.
According to him, this is not a one off thing but a kind of employment data bank or data base from which applicants are engaged depending on the job specifications.
This is as Prof Soludo is seriously believed to be ready to wear an Ogbunike made pair of shoes as part of his attire during his inauguration ceremony to encourage the local manufacturers in the state.
Anatune in a statement to newsmen said that Soludo is igniting the battle for the Ogbunike shoemakers in order to carve a good slice of the global footwear market currently put at 565.5 Billion US dollars.
He said, “This is not a pie in the sky. Admittedly, the market is dominated by Italian, Japanese, Spaniards and American shoemakers, but current global trend for customization has created openings for our Ogbunike shoemakers for market penetration, especially with Soludo leading the battle for the minds of consumers.
“Obviously, this is not the whole story. Now, let us give you the reason to believe and buy the OGBUNIKE-made shoes for formal or casual uses just like Soludo is doing, with his identification spiking demand.”
Also, Mr. Clem Chukwuka, Managing Director of Anambra State Small Business Agency which oversees the state-of-the-art facilities for shoemaking in Ogbunike said the initiative comes across as a transformational leader always on the prowl for openings for his products.
He said that “his machines are the same like the ones Italian shoemakers use. He confirms that his people have been exposed to global best practices in the industry. Clem is proud that his people make “damn good shoes” fit for the consumers who now see shoes beyond their protective functions but as expressions of personal identity.
“Going forward, Clem and his people need to fiercely and boldly build many winning brands from their Ogbunike shoe wonders which for now are excellent commodities.”
“And with Soludo as an informal Chief Marketing Officer by useage, the Ogbunike, Anambra-made shoes could define the reputation of Anambra as a place where quality shoes come from.
“The market is huge and projected globally to grow at 24% in the next five years. The rub- offs of this on other Anambra product offerings can only be imagined.”
