FG Moves To Support N’Delta Youth In Agric …As NDDC Rejigs Abandoned Rice Mill In Emohua

The Federal Government has said it will support youth in the Niger Delta region who chose to go into agriculture as a way of reducing crime in the region.
The commitment is coming on the heels of plans by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to revitalise its rice mill at Elele-Alimini community in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The Tide gathered that the NDDC initiated the private-public-partnership (PPP) process with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and a private firm, Elephant Group, towards rehabilitating the rice mill at Elele-Alimini.
Speaking during a meeting with the board and management of the commission in Port Harcourt, Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri expressed the hope that when fully functional, the Elele-Alimini Rice Mill will serve residents  of Imo , Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers and other states in the Niger Delta region.
The minister said, “As one of the steps towards reducing youth restiveness in the Niger Delta region, we have to drive youth of the Niger Delta into agriculture. Go to Peremabiri today, Ogunboss is already growing 50 hectares of rice, and we are ready to support them.
“The Elele Rice Mill is strategically located along the East-West Road. When it becomes functional, it will serve Imo, Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers states and others in this region.”
Also speaking, Managing Director of the NDDC, Nsima Ekere, said the decision of the commission to revitalize the Elele-Alimini Rice Mill, through PPP process, was in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to zero tolerance and wastages.
Ekere stated that the NDDC will use the rice mill, when fully functional to prepare the Niger Delta region towards non-reliance on oil alone but also on agriculture.
He said, “With the rice mill functional, we will be preparing the Niger Delta for a future without oil. We are looking to a future where we will no longer rely on oil but agriculture.”
Earlier in his presentation, Group Managing Director of Elephant Group, Olatunji Owoeye, said the company will rejuvenate the rice mill with modern equipments and create employment for youth of the region.