The Niger Delta Development Commission says it has developed a new concept of working with the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce in the training of youths and aspiring entrepreneurs in the Niger Delta region.
Speaking during a youth interactive forum organised by the NDDC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, stated that the commission would collaborate with the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce to support small and medium-scale enterprises in the Niger Delta region.
He said, “We are considering setting up a Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce that will strengthen young entrepreneurs in the region. It is no longer acceptable that our youths will be at home and be receiving stipends. Hence, we are changing the NDDC Youth Volunteer programme to Youth Internship Programmes where youths will be attached to organisations for one year to learn skills.
“The chamber of commerce will help us to ensure that the programme is sustainable. We will focus on empowering young entrepreneurs because the government cannot employ everybody. We will engage the youths to work for the benefit of everyone.”
Ogbuku remarked that the NDDC was seeking partnerships through stakeholder engagements, noting that the purpose for the engagement was to get feedback from the youths; interact with them and rub minds on the upcoming programmes being planned for them.
He added, “The integration of ideas starts from the conception stage. That way, when the programme starts running, ideas of stakeholders are already incorporated. We believe that the youths must contribute to whatever plans we have for them.”
In his contribution, the leader of Rivers Youth Forum, Blessing Fubara, urged the NDDC to make the Youth Interactive Forum a quarterly event, stating that the current management in the Commission had demonstrated sufficient interest in providing for the wellbeing of people.
In his closing remarks, the NDDC Executive Director of Finance and Administration, Major General Charles Airhiavbere, (retd.), assured the youths that the new ideas put forward by the commission’s managing director had been incorporated into the commission’s 2024 budget.
