The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has urged youths in the Niger Delta to take advantage of the commission’s special training programme to acquire entrepreneurship skills.

The governing board chairman, Chiedu Ebie, made the call at the inauguration of the NDDC youth internship scheme in Port Harcourt on Monday.

It would be recalled that On July 31, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, disclosed federal government’s approval of N50,000 monthly stipend to 10,000 Niger Delta youths for 12 months.

Mr Ebie stated that selected participants would receive N50,000 monthly to gain skills in various fields such as automobile, craftsmanship, medicine, maritime, agriculture and technology, among others.

“The NDDC youth intensive scheme aims to equip our youths with the skills to become entrepreneurs and employable.

“Niger Delta youths can register for the training for free at https://nyis.nddc.gov.ng, while eligibility is limited to individuals aged 45 years and below.

“There is an age limit; therefore, pensioners should not falsely reduce their age by 10 years to qualify for the programme,” he said.

Mr Ebie said that measures had been put in placed to detect such sharp practices, and that provisions had been made for physically challenged persons.

“Each participant will select an internship location, and we will connect them with businesses seeking interns.

“A monitoring, evaluation and learning framework will be established to ensure transparency and measure the programme’s success,” he said.

The NDDC managing director, Samual Ogbuku, commended the youths for refusing to participate in the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protest.

He said that the empowerment programme was not an afterthought, but a carefully planned initiative captured in the commission’s N1.9 trillion annual budget.

Mr Ogbuku said that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration was committed to the development of the Niger Delta region.

(NAN)