NNPC, SNEPCo fund 2,000 Boko Haram victims for vocational training

Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in partnership with Shell Nigeria and Exploration and Production Company of Nigeria Limited (SNEPCo) have sponsored over 2,150 Internally Displaced Persons in Borno who are victims of Boko Haram activities in Mafa and Jere Local Government Areas to acquire various vocational training in the state.

The SNEPCo Managing Director, Elohor Aiboni, on Wednesday in Maiduguri, stated that the training is aim to provide vocational training to vulnerable persons, especially women and youth to start-up businesses and help them rebuild their lives impacted by the insurgency in north-east Nigeria.

He noted that, more than 100 persons living with disabilities will benefit from the empowerment initiative tag as “Borno Livelihood Program”, and they will also be encouraged to set up cooperative societies.

According to him, the training will be delivered in close collaboration with the State Emergency Management Agency, Ministry of Women Affairs, Jere and Mafa local governments councils and community leaders, in which the beneficiaries will receive vocational skills such as catering, animal husbandry, tailoring and laundry.

“In line with our ambition to power progress by powering Lives, we shall be supporting those who have been impacted by these security incidents to set up viable businesses; equipping them with the essential tools and resources they need to become self-reliant and successful entrepreneurs.

“To ensure sustainability, the project managers will assist beneficiaries to register with various skill/trade associations in the communities while also providing mentoring and coaching to achieve continuous capacity building”.

He explained that last year, SNEPCo powered lives by constructing and renovating two primary healthcare centres for internally displaced persons in Borno and Yobe states, providing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, medical infrastructure, and training for 252 healthcare workers.

“HRMDS, the project managers are dedicated to creating a lasting positive impact in the lives of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and vulnerable people in the host communities, thereby actively contributing to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria” said Aiboni.