By Austin Oyibode, Asaba
Director General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mallam Abubakar Mohammed has disbursed starter packs worth N2.5m to 50 trainees who successfully trained in five community based programmes at Ibusa in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.
The 50 graduants who were trained in catering, hairdressing, satellite dish installation, soap, bead and hat making were majorly females and few males and were given starter packs worth N50,000 each to commence their trade and transform their living conditions.
The ceremony, which was held at the Diokpa Palace Hall in Ibusa, drew senior management staff of the directorate at the Delta State headquarters, traditional council chiefs who represented the traditional ruler of Ibusa and the NDE Director General who was represented by the Acting Delta State Coordinator, Mr. Geoffrey Ugbaja.
The programme which ran for three months started on September 15 through to December where the unemployed youths were practically trained on how to handle the various machines and create wealth for themselves, a situation which tallied with the theme of NDE, Jobs for All.
Addressing the beneficiaries at the ceremony ground, the DG who was represented by Acting State Coordinator, Mr. Geoffrey Ugbaja, said the empowerment package was aimed at making the beneficiaries self reliant, self fulfilled and employment generators.
He said the challenge before the NDE is to provide jobs for all Nigerians where there is none and livelihood where existence is threatened with unemployment, just as he described unemployment as a humiliation to the individual and embarrassment to the family.
He said the disbursement of the starter packs to the youths was an opportunity to launch them into the market to create wealth for themselves and an opportunity to bring others whom they will employ out of the unemployment market.
To this end, he implored the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the items as their success in their various trades depended on their readiness to apply the knowledge gained and their willingness to use the tools presented to them.
Representative of the traditional ruler of Ibusa, Secretary of Igbuzor in Council, Nzele Austin Abuah, advised the beneficiaries to employ the starter packs for what they were meant for as they were aimed at removing poverty from them.
The Secretary who expressed happiness over the success of the three months programme, commended the Directorate for bringing the training to the community, saying the programme was a huge success.
A beneficiary of the training, Awele Adefe Becky, applauded the Directorate for fulfilling all the promises made to them, even as she commended the NDE for the empowerment, assuring that the items would be used to make a living for themselves.
