NDDC, NGO To Train Niger Delta Youths …As Beneficiaries Laud Empowerment Scheme

The Chairman, Board of
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, says the commission is ready to partner an NGO, Bridge Leadership Foundation, to train Niger Delta youths in various skills
Ewa-Henshaw  said in Calabar that the commission would embark on the training as part of its youth empowerment and wealth creation initiative.
He said: “When I return to Port Harcourt, I am going to meet with the commission’s Managing Director to discuss modalities for the training.  “We are going to sponsor youths from all the Niger Delta states for three or six months leadership training in order to equip them for the future”.
The chairman said the youths would undergo training in entrepreneurship programmes which would make them to be self-reliant and provide jobs for others.
He said the management of NDDC was developing a model for Information Communication Technology (ICT) training for the youths, including software writing programmes.
“This is to enable them to get Java and Microsoft certifications so that they can work anywhere in the world,” Ewa-Henshaw said.
He also said that the commission was doing the needful to ensure that youths in the region were well equipped to take up leadership roles when necessary and appealed to the youth to always work hard and shun acts capable of derailing their future.
Ewa-Henshaw added that “the only time you fail is when you stop trying, so, I want to remind the Niger Delta youths that the time to sit back and wait for handouts is over.
“The culture of begging should not be allowed to take root in the Niger Delta; that is not our culture.  “All you need is an opportunity for you to become somebody,” he said.
Bridge Leadership Foundation which trains youths in leadership roles was founded by Gov. Liyel Imoke of Cross River.
Meanwhil, some of the beneficiaries of the empowerment programme of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Cross River said they would utilise the incentives offered by the programme to create wealth.
In an interview in Calabar on Sunday, Mrs Christiana Eyamba, said the cassava grinding machine she received through the programme would boost her garri production.
Eyamba, from Obanliku Local Government Area of the state, said she had since longed for a grinding machine to enable her to process more cassava and produce more garri in commercial quantity.
“I need it, because we plant plenty of cassava in our area; with this machine I can now employ people to help me to grind.  “This will help us the beneficiaries, because it will enable us to make more money and train our children in school. “We are going to produce garri in large quantity and we will sell to people from far and near; it  will yield more money to us and the community,’’ she said.
Another beneficiary, Mrs Roseline Adie, said the programme was organised by the NDDC to achieve the purpose of fighting poverty at the grassroots.
Adie, from Ikom Local Government Area of the state, who received a sewing machine, said it was a good idea for the NDDC to recognise the people at the grassroots.
She noted that the sewing machine would assist her to expand her business and train her children in school.