The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has promised that the commission will henceforth meet on a quarterly basis with stakeholders of the commission to enhance the formulation and sustenance of the Commission’s overall strategies for the development of the region.
Ogbuku made the promise during an interactive forum with opinion leaders and youth groups in the Niger Delta region in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, stating that the engagement was necessary to ensure the durability of its programmes and projects.
He emphasised the importance of building the capacity of youths through strategic programmes as the Commission transits from transaction to transformation.
Ogbuku said: “Not until we give all our leaders, political, traditional, youths, women and other leaders in the Niger Delta that platform and opportunity to discuss what our future should be, we may not understand the direction that our people want to go.”
He pointed out that the NDDC has a duty to harness resources from different groups, saying: “We have gathered at this forum to hear from the youth, to interact with them and rub minds because we realise that we cannot be planning programmes for youths without involving them at the foundational level.
“We have given more opportunities and hope to Niger Delta youths through our Holistic Opportunity Projects of Engagement (HOPE), meant to identify interests of the youth for skills’ training.
He stressed that the HOPE project had helped the Commission to develop a comprehensive digital repository, comprising important information about the youths of the Niger Delta region, including their qualifications, skills, interests, needs and current employment status.
“So far, 470,000 youths have registered in the database and we will partner with youth organisations to ensure that all our youths are registered. This database will serve as a plank for data-driven planning, enabling the formulation of impactful policies and programmes targeted at the youths,” Ogbuku said.
He announced that the NDDC was working with the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce in the training of youths and young entrepreneurs in the Niger Delta region, adding that the Commission will collaborate with the Chamber to support small and medium enterprises in the region and ensure the sustainability of youth development programmes.
“We will also partner with the Bank of Industry to fund projects and support businesses and facilitate the success of our empowerment programmes. We will provide all the necessary support for youth entrepreneurship schemes.
In his remarks, the NDDC Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Alabo Boma Iyaye, affirmed the importance of stakeholders’ engagements in driving the development process, stating that NDDC recognised the fact that youths are the backbone of any society.
Earlier, president of the Survival of the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND), Comrade Kennedy West, commended the leadership of the NDDC for providing a platform for interaction for youth groups in the region, noting that it was important to continually engage in discussions to lay a foundation for sustainable development.
The coordinator for Project HOPE, Ambassador Blessing Fubara, said that the programme will help to engage youths of the region by creating employment opportunities for them.
He said that the second phase of the youth empowerment programme will focus on commercial agriculture, information and communication technology, as well as assisting youths in the creative industry.
ALSO READ: One feared killed, two others injured in LAUTECH students’ clash
and then