Jubilation as FG doles out N45m start-up package to Niger Delta youths, women
- The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs disbursed N45 million to youths and women from Niger Delta
- The beneficiaries of the fund are those who have successfully undergone the ministry’s training programme
- They are to use the money to establish and fund their individual businesses
The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has disbursed a total of N45 million to about 90 youths and women in the region who have successfully undergone its training programme to enable them to start their own trading.
The release of the funds to the beneficiaries was part of the ministry’s commitment towards reducing unemployment and youth restiveness in the region, Vanguard reports.
While disbursing the money to the beneficiaries in Calabar, the Cross River state capital recently, the minister of Niger Delta affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, said each person will be empowered with N500, 000 start-up package.
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Legit.ng gathered that Pastor Usani explained that the 90 graduands drawn from the various states in the region were trained in fishery and poultry production so that they could contribute to the food security of the region and Nigeria in general.
Pastor Usani charged the beneficiaries to establish themselves so that they too could contribute towards the training of other Niger Deltans for the enhancement of their value, thereby making them more productive members of the society.
He reiterated that the federal government would be glad to see the trainees as partners and consultants with the capacity to deliver as change agents in the nearest future.
The graduands expressed gratitude to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, pledging their unalloyed support for the president and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
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They said that they have received “all it takes to transform our lives and other people around us.”
Legit.ng previously reported that in a bid to curtail the incessant restiveness in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, the presidency unveiled a plan to employ 208,000 youths.
In a statement released on Saturday, March 10, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, said the plan was disclosed at a meeting of the Niger Delta Inter-Ministerial Committee presided over by Osinbajo at the State House in Abuja on Friday, March 9.
Akande said the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) had established “job placement centres which are expected to engage about 208,000 youths in the Niger Delta. To help reduce unemployment and youth restiveness in the region, the NDDC centre would match existing vacancies with available skills within the region.”
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Source: Legit.ng
