It was showers of naira on beneficiaries of Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP) and Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurship Programme (YAGEP) , a major job creation flagship of Delta State government as 1,000 of them in the 2020/2021 programme cycle graduated.
Among the graduands were 25 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), one in each of the 25 local government areas, thereby bringing the total number of beneficiaries since inception of the programme in 2015 to 6, 074.
The beneficiaries, who received starter packs and cash gifts for one year shop rent, were trained in fashion designing, cosmetics/cosmetology, event management/make-over, media production/online digital marketing, poultry/pig farming, cassava/gari production, interlocking, catering services, ICT and several others.
Having taken a stock of the programme’s success story over six years ago, elated Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, at the ceremony, announced a cash reward of N500,000 each for 75 outstanding graduates adopted into the job creation hall of fame, N10 million for the choristers and N7.5 million for dancers who entertained the audience.
“You have made me proud as a governor and I must return my thanks to all the youth who have gone through this programme because if you had failed, it would have discouraged us from continuing with it.
“I want to urge you to stay strong, focused and we believe that together we can ensure the continuity and the growth of our various youth entrepreneurship programmes if you partner with us as we go into the new dispensation that is coming.
“It is well with our state and I use this opportunity to thank our traditional rulers for their support and prayers for the success of this administration.
“It is my belief that as they continue to pray for us our youths will continue to grow from strength to strength and we look forward to a Delta State that is not only stronger but a state that will make a major difference in the comity of states in Nigeria.
“I’m confident that you will make us proud going into the future and we will be proud that we laid the foundation and that was built upon,” he stated.
Okowa called on Deltans to be wary of deliberate mischief against the state government by its opponent, saying that citizens knew that no volume of devious criticism could taint the developmental efforts of his administration.
According to him, only enemies of the youth would criticise what his administration was doing for youths of the state.
He warned that henceforth, the state government would no longer tolerate people registering in other programmes after they had been trained and empowered in another programme, stressing that such acts were inimical to the progress of the state as perpetrators were blocking the chances of others from benefiting from the various job creation schemes.
“It is only an irresponsible leader that would not continue with this laudable programme but by the special grace of God we will not have an irresponsible person in government.”
The governor also paid tribute to the people who gave life to the programme, including Dr Kingsley Emu, Economic Adviser, Professor Eric Eboh, Director-General State Job and Wealth Creation Bureau, Dr Kingsley Obiora, Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria and Hon. Festus Agas and Chief of Staff to the Governor, among others.
Earlier, Professor Eboh said the ceremony marked the formal closure of the 2020/2021 cycle of STEP and YAGEP, the sixth in the job creation programme series since 2015.
“Beneficiaries were given starter packs and support packages in batches upon successful completion of all the phases of training and fulfilling the eligibility requirements.
He said the Bureau had created some institutional development tools developed and already being applied by Delta Job and Wealth Creation Bureau to ensure organisational and programme sustainability into the future.
In their valedictory speech, Gure Oghenetejiri, a STEPreneur in POP, Screeding and Painting from Ughelli North and Onakpoya Evuarhere, a Poultry YAGEPreneur from Ethiope East commended Governor Okowa and the state government for the life opportunity given to them to acquire skills and become business owners.
and then