Niger Delta Progressives Alliance(NDPA)has commenced sensitization aimed at educating the people of the Niger Delta region on available federal government opportunities, and the accessibility of such programmes directly without any third party or payment.
According to the group, many people in the Niger Delta region especially youth are not benefitting from the federal government’s programmes and policies not because they are denied but because they are not well-informed on the accessibility of the various initiatives.
At a one-day sensitization programme held in Asaba,, with the theme: “Empirical Perspective on President Bola Tinubu: Offers in Two Years, A Strategic Engagement of Niger Deltans on Accessibility”, Victor Udoh, convener of the Niger Delta Progressives Alliance said the group’s target was to acquaint the people with the programmes of the federal government and massively equip them.
For example he said, “NELFUND, the special student loan programme – Statistics of the 2024/2025 beneficiaries shows that 65 percent are northerners while 35 percent are from the south and I can assure you that the 35 percent are from the South-West. It is not that our people were denied but because our people did not apply. They don’t think it is real.
“Now, we believe that by 2025/2026 engagement, we are going to have a lot of our people who will apply and benefit and ease their old parents in the communities of issues of school fees.
“Another example is SMEDAN, NDE etc. A lot of people are not taking part and we believe that if we can get a lot of people to take part because when people are empowered economically, you have a more secured and stable communities.
Also speaking at the programme, Jator Abido, an engineer and National Coordinator, Niger Delta Youth Council Worldwide and Paramount Ruler, Niger Delta Communities in the North, said that the statistics between the north and south on accessing the programmes is not comparable.
In an interview with journalists, Abido who was also the guest speaker, at the programme noted that
more northerners were accessing their programmes than the southerners.
“Those are among the reasons why we are being saddled with responsibility to start taking the message of the policies and how the policies are to better the lives of the people of the region with each of them – the SMEDAN, NELFUND and other presidential initiatives”, he stated.
“The President in order to boost oil production in the region and the economy also awarded pipeline surveillance contracts to some companies like Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL).
“This company has helped to end pipeline vandalism and oil theft thus boosting from less than a million bpd production to nearly 2-million bpd.
“They have created thousands of jobs for our youths, have several Corporate Social Responsibility CRS programmes like scholarships, trainings and skills acquisition programmes”.
“We are driving the engine to the region so that our people should know that President Tinubu, in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda, means well for all Nigerians and for the Niger Delta people.
“So, because of that, we are trying to re-orient them and to make them understand that it is not business as usual and it is not fun.
The children and the students can benefit from the NELFUND with a loan from the government. You that are into entrepreneurship, and small and medium scale businesses can access funds from SMEDAN and also get the opportunity to access partnership. And they can help you off-take your goods and services. Like our brothers and sisters from the rural areas, that want to go into export, processing, SMEDAN can assist them, set a market for them where they can off-take and start exporting them.
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“So, those are among the reasons why the Niger Delta Progressives Alliance alongside the Nigeria Youth Council and our brother-company, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) started this, to showcase the benefit of these initiatives and how our Niger Delta people can benefit from them.
Felix Ejenavi, Secretary-General of the group and host of the event, disclosed that the exercise which started in Rivers State would reach all the states of the region.
ThankGod Trakiriowei, Delta State Commissioner for Youth Development, in his remarks applauded President Tinubu and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for putting up programmes that impact positively on the lives of the citizens and urged Niger Delta youths to take advantage of the available opportunities provided by government through various programmes and platforms to empower themselves and improve their lives.
Highlight of the event included grouping of the participants under NDE, SMEDAN, CNG, NELFUND, Livestocks, Bank of Industry and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security with a view to sensitizing the youths, women and men on how to access and benefit from the intenvenist programmes of the various federal ministries agencies and departments.
