The federal government has empowered 415 youths and women in Niger Delta states in agriculture, information communication technology (ICT) and entrepreneurship.

Minister of Niger Delta, Umana Umana, disclosed this at the graduation ceremony of the trainees of an empowerment programme in Uyo on Saturday.

Mr Umana, represented by the director of planning, research and statistics in the ministry, Alfred Alber, said the initiative was one of the many gestures by the federal government.

He said the training was to diversify the economy, reorient values and generate employment for women, youths and other vulnerable groups in the Niger Delta region.

The minister also said the training, expected to prepare the participants for the tasks ahead, lasted five days and was held in Uyo, the state capital.

Mr Umana said each participant would collect N500,000, stating that the cash would be credited directly into the bank account details provided by the participants by the training consultant.

He further stated that the package was meant for the participants to commence micro or small enterprises on what they had been taught at the training.

The minister noted that the programme was put together to impact theoretical and practical knowledge, provide skills in ICT and ensure self-reliance and the ability to engage others.

Also speaking, the vice-chancellor of the University of Uyo, Nyaudo Ndaeyo, urged the participants to do their best in whatever they had learned from the consultants to be self-reliant.

Responding, one of the beneficiaries, Eyo Essien, from Cross River, commended the ministry for the initiative.

He pledged to put into use all the knowledge acquired from the training.

Another beneficiary, Chris Oluchi, from Imo, said the initiative would help turn the otherwise unemployed youths into employers of labour, in line with the federal government’s vision.

(NAN)