TVC E, NEWS – A total of 10,000 youths in the restive oil rich Niger-Delta region will be trained for skilled work annually as government moves to address kidnappings and pipeline vandalisation, Niger-Delta minister, Usani Uguru Usani has said.
Usani said government plans to build nine vocational centres and the first centre would train young people in leather goods manufacturing, mobile phone assembly and e-commerce.
Some would also find work at a new processing plant for cassava, part of the government’s plan to boost the agricultural sector.
“The establishments we are putting in place to give skills to the people are in the vocations of small artisanal skill processing and manufacturing in different vocations in different centers. For instance, commerce that should train people on electronic commerce, which enhances their knowledge in ICT, making of you know… leather products, different vocations of that nature. We only hope that when this is finished people will be ready to engage themselves profitably in self-employment but we are working to see how we can finish and equip those centers,” Usani told Reuters.
Oil pollution has longed plagued the southwestern Delta, an impoverished region despite being home to much of Nigeria’s oil and gas wealth. The environmental toll has been huge. The mangrove creeks of the delta region are heavily polluted mainly due to leaks from illegal pipeline tapping and sabotage.
