The Nigerian government has called on young men and women in the Niger Delta to help their communities foster the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to increase economic independence and decrease crime.
At the Karu, Abuja, graduation ceremony for the training and empowerment of youths and women from the Niger Delta region, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA), Engr Olufunso Adebiyi, was represented by the Overseeing Director, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Mr Alfred Abah.
The Permanent Secretary outlined that the federal government is considering the training effort as part of its plan to diversify the economy, reorient values, and create employment opportunities for youths and women in the Niger Delta region.
The ministry’s training and empowerment initiative aim, among other things, to “Enable the beneficiaries to be able to manage a business for effective enterprise development.”
To “ensure self-reliance and ability to engage others, generate income within and outside the family, impact theoretical and practical knowledge and also provide practical skill in ICT to facilitate interaction with the world and equip participants for the task ahead,” he said.
“The ministry is also aware that training without support of the terminal point would amount to an effort in futility,” said the permanent secretary. Therefore, the programme includes an empowerment package in the form of startup funds for the trainees to launch a micro-enterprise based on what they have been exposed to and to wisely apply what they have learned to achieve the program’s final purpose.
The Director of the Economic Empowerment Department at MNDA, Mr Philip Ndioumu, had earlier indicated that this session is one of the activities carried out by the department to not only empower youngsters across the area but also to reshape their character through a value re-orientation programme.
“Very soon before the year ends, other youths who were not captured at this time would be captured in the near future. We are looking at providing training for about 1,110 other beneficiaries drawn from the over 4,000 people registered across the region in our database. Also, those who have been agitating to be considered will be included in the programme,” he added.
Mr Precious Okere, a participant and one of the programme’s beneficiaries, thanked the federal government and said the empowerment programme would help a great deal in reducing unemployment and increasing safety in the Niger Delta. He said, “I strongly believe that the programme as a continuous exercise would keep most youths engaged.”