Emmanuel Nlewedum, Port Harcourt
No fewer than 300 youths and women from the Niger Delta Region are currently benefiting from the ongoing three months skills acquisition programme organised by the Victorious Prayer Network (VPN) also known as King Makers Ministries.
The skills acquisition programme which was sponsored by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is aimed at creating opportunities, reducing crime, poverty and hunger among the people, as well as equipping youths and women with skills for jobs and entrepreneurship.
The event, which is taking place in Port Harcourt, capital city of Rivers State has youths, women and children from across the Niger Delta States as participants.
The Founder of Victorious Prayer Network, Prophetess Mrs. Victoria Ebi Agori, said the 300 beneficiaries were being trained in tailoring, catering, shoe making, hair dressing, barbing, video and photography, making of soap, air freshener and beads/head ties, as well as Information Communication Technology, ICT, amongst other stills.
Agori stated that the trainees will be provided with starters packs and cash at the end of the training programme in March, 2025 to enable them start a living for themselves and their families.
She said, “This skills acquisition programme is being sponsored by the NDDC. I want to sincerely appreciate the NDDC Managing Director, Chief Samuel Ogbuku and his management team for sponsoring this programme to ensure the poor masses especially the widows and orphans who are also here, acquire these skills to put food on their tables, earn a living and also become employers of labour tomorrow.”
She lauded the NDDC Boss, Ogbuku for his commitment to adding human capacity building via several youth development and empowerment schemes, to his mandate to developing the Niger Delta region, and also allow God used him to alleviate the people’s sufferings and cushion the effect of the economy on them and their families with these skills.
She described the appointment Chief Samuel Ogbuku as the NDDC MD as a round peg in a round hole, and thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his choice of Ogbuku who according to her understands the needs of the Niger Delta people.
“We thank the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Chief Dr. Samuel Ogbuku as the MD of NDDC, and even reappointing him. Chief Ogbuku is a good man, he understands the problems of the Niger Delta people, and what they need, and he is taking time to solve them.
“What you are seeing here is the second edition of this skills acquisition programme, we have 300 persons participating in this edition, and later in the year, we will be moving to Bayelsa for the 3rd edition. All these are done free of charge, courtesy of the NDDC.
“So, we thank the NDDC MD and team for this gesture and pray that God continue to bless them.”
Mrs. Agori also congratulated the trainees and tasked them to take advantage of the opportunity before them to better their lives.
A beneficiary of the Fashion and Designing (Tailoring) training, Josephine Christopher, thanked the NDDC Boss, Chief Samuel Ogbuku for the opportunity, admitting that she had been longing to acquire skills but lacked the fund to get enrolled.
She expressed optimism that the programme would cushion her sufferings, adding that the training had equipped her for the future and would help her achieve her goals.
She admonished youths in the Niger Delta who do not have the opportunity to be educated, to acquire skills rather than engage in anti-social behaviours.
Another beneficiary of the ICT department, Joy Edward, 18 years old from Akwa Ibom State, expressed joy at the skills acquired during the programme and praised the NDDC for empowering youths to become self-sufficient
