The Rivers State Social Rehabilitation Committee (SRC) has unveiled plans to set up an integrated Business and Technology Community to harmonise activities of trained ex-militant who will be employed under Small Business Units (SBUs).
The Community which is located at Azuabre in Port Harcourt Local Government Area will house 18 SBUs including driving, barbing salon, hair dressing, carpentry and electrical electronics among other trades.
Addressing newsmen yesterday on the development, the chairman SRC, Chief Albert Horsfall disclosed that the SBUs would be set up in partnership with the private sector and jointly funded by some banks.
Chief Horsfall explained that the scheme would help absorb graduands of the Social Development Institute (SDI), majority of whom are yet to be fully employed.
He further observed, “this very unique experiment is what the SRC is today introducing to all concerned to demonstrate clearly that even in this time of economic recession, with proper planning and sincere efforts such opportunities for employment and human/economic development exist in this state.”
The SRC boss appealed to well-meaning people of the state to join hands and support the body by invsting in similar ventures to develop the untapped abundant opportunities for job creation.
Chief Horsfall lauded the vision of the State Governor Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi for setting up the SRC and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that has assisted the scheme through model integrated farming.
With the training provided so far for the ex-militants, he expressed the belief that they would lead a normal and productive life and warned them to eschew violence.
He said the committee had acquired two 500 hecters of farms located at Ahoada and Degema, from the School To Land Authority for the purpose of engaging graduands, believing that if the ex-militants continued to participate in the scheme, the state would be rid of miscreants and all forms of criminality in the future.
