Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has charged youths of the Niger Delta region, to embrace entrepreneurship as a springboard for sustainable development.
Ogbuku, who made the call in his keynote address at the Ogbia Youth Summit in Ogbia, Bayelsa State, noted that for any community to achieve sustainable development and peace, the youths must be meaningfully engaged.
The NDDC boss urged the youths to key into the Commission’s Holistic Opportunity Projects of Engagement, HOPE, meant to identify the interest of the youths for skills training; and advised them to eschew cultism, drug abuse, thuggery and other social vices.
Ogbuku, who noted that focus on human capacity building was in line with the Renewed Hope agenda of the President Bola Tinubu administration, applauded the youths of Ogbia on their vision to set up a youth hub and pledged to support the initiative, noting that collaboration was necessary for development efforts to flourish.
He said: “As Ogbia people, we should jettison individual interests for the collective interest of the people. This is the example we should learn from our leader, former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who declared that his political ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian; that is the Ogbia spirit.
“What was handed to us by our founding fathers, is the identity of an Ogbia man. Whatever achievement we must have accomplished today, is the result of the legacies established by late Melford Okilo and other notable leaders. These legacies made us strive for greatness.
“It will be a bigger challenge for me if I can’t bring peace and development to Ogbia people. If we collaborate, we can partner and share ideas for success.”
Earlier, the President of Ogbia Youths Association, Ambassador Johnny Jonathan, said they put up the programme to chart a new course in human capacity development among the youths.
Jonathan commended the NDDC Chief Executive Officer for supporting youth programmes and stressed the need to educate young people on the importance of peace as a catalyst to economic and infrastructural development.
The youth President expressed confidence that the gains of the youth hub would be huge in the near future.
 | ReplyReply allForward |
