The Ijaw Community in Abuja/Northern Region has described the economic empowerment initiatives of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as a veritable means of not only sustaining peace in the oil-rich region, but also of diversifying the means of sustenance of the people.
In a statement by its Chairman and Secretary-General, Alagba Ebifemowei and George Enna, the Community praised the Minister of Niger Delta Umana Okon Umana, Permanent Secretary and Directors in Charge of the Economic Empowerment Department (EED) over the 2022 Annual Traning program theme: Training of Youths and Women in Agriculture/Aqua Business.
The community gave its approval ratings of the training as necessarily to diversify the region from oil dependence to agro-business as a means to engage the youths and women for self-empowerment, human capital development and discourage pipeline vandalism and destruction of other valuable government assets.
It urged the minister and the ministry to sustain such programmes and also introduce more direct empowerments that will engage the youths, peculiar to their abode in the rural areas of the Niger Delta.
It also appealed to the Minister to charge the newly inaugurated Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to emulate the Ministery of Niger Delta Affairs on direct rural empowerments to engage the people and sustain the needed peace in the region.
“By so doing, this efforts will compliment Mr President’s kind gesture against pipeline vandalism & other social vices”, the statement said.
The community, however, pledged to always liaise with the federaal and state government authorities to sustain peace and development in the Niger Delta and Nigeria in general.