Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has pledged to galvanize the Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture, NDCCITMA, by releasing N30billion counterpart fund for the development of young entrepreneurs.
Speaking during an interview with newsmen at the NDDC’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, restated the Commission’s commitment to empowering the region’s people through economic programmes.
He highlighted the NDCCITMA’s role in training youths, supporting SMEs, and designing industry-friendly skill development programmes.
Ogbuku said the NDDC was supporting the NDCCITMA to drive economic growth and development in the Niger Delta region by providing financial support, training, and networking opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs.
“We are providing N30 billion to fund projects and support businesses to ensure the sustainability of our youth development initiatives.
“We will release the matching funds so the entrepreneurs can access them to boost their businesses. In our 2024 budget, we have provision for 30 billion naira which we are to use as matching funds for the chamber of commerce. We are working towards releasing this fund so that the chamber of commerce can start work in earnest.
“The Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce will strengthen young entrepreneurs in the region. It is no longer acceptable for our youths to be contented with receiving stipends while at home doing nothing.
Ogbuku remarked that the Commission was collaborating with the Bank of Industry, BOI, to ensure the success of NDDC’s youth development programmes.
According to him, “The current NDDC Board and Management choose to look at sustainable options in designing youth programmes. In the past, we did a lot in supporting entrepreneurs in the Niger Delta but these activities were not properly documented and backed with verifiable data.
“Our new strategy is to support genuine entrepreneurs rather than people who are just portfolio entrepreneurs because we know that the government alone cannot employ everybody. Many university graduates are coming out, and the government cannot employ all of them. However, we can empower them by creating an environment where they can engage other persons to expand their businesses.”
The NDDC boss maintained that engaging the youths in meaningful ventures was a sure way of keeping peace in the Niger Delta region, noting that the young ones should not just be allowed to be roaming the streets. “We need to support budding entrepreneurs to grow and engage more hands and we have to do it in a structured way ,using the platform of the Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce,” Ogbuku said.
He stressed that for the entrepreneurs to benefit from the support being provided by the NDDC, they must be registered members of the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, which covers all the nine states of the Niger Delta region.
Speaking on the NDDC Youth Internship Scheme, Ogbuku observed that some loose ends were being tied to ensure that the list of beneficiaries were released as soon as possible and the successful ones notified.
He noted: “This initiative will train youths and aspiring entrepreneurs while supporting small and medium-scale enterprises. The youths will be attached to organisations for one year to learn different skills.”
Ogbuku said that the consultant processing the applications of millions of youths was harmonising the entries for the different skill sects to ensure that they could all take off simultaneously. He observed that the consultant was also firming up the terms of the internship scheme because the applications were in different areas.
“Some of the organisations we are in contact with are ready to engage some of these people, but we want a seamless take off. We want all the different skill areas to kick off concurrently. Following the information given to us by the consultant, we will start paying the beneficiaries from January 2025. We are expecting the final list of beneficiaries who would be promptly notified in the next few weeks for the effective implementation of the youth programme.”
