FG Determines to Empower Niger Delta Women

FG Determines to Empower Niger Delta Women
The Federal Government has reiterated its determination to empower Niger Delta women through vocational training and empowerment programmes.
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Professor Claudius Omoleye Daramola gave the assurance at the Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State at the graduation ceremony of fifty Niger Delta women trained on confectioneries and household product technology for one month at the institution.
Prof. Daramola disclosed that that was the first time the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs organized a training and empowerment programme specifically for women of the Niger Delta region, promising that many more of such programmes were in the pipeline.
In the words of the minister: ‘’ As you all know, when you train a woman, you train a nation, when you train a man you train an individual. And so, women’s socio-economic advancement will not only contribute to the empowerment of the family but the region’s growth and the nation at large.’’
The minister noted that with that training and others that had been done by the ministry the country’s need for job creation which had been ignored in the past was now yielding results.
Prof. Daramnola stressed the need for collaboration between the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, the Bank of Industry, the Industrial Training Fund, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and other agencies with a view to see how best to further empower the trainees and others that would be trained thereafter.
He also solicited that those organizations should have a database of the trainees for the purposes of tracking for future intervention programmes, funding and empowerment.
The minister added that such collaboration would help to reduce duplication of efforts and make various training investments yield results of engineering the Niger Delta region’s socio-economic growth and development.
Prof. Daramola disclosed that each graduand would be given the sum of Three Hundred Thousand Naira (N300,000.00) as starter pack to start her business.
He disclosed that the ministry would follow-up on each of them with a view to monitor the impact of the training and empowerment programme, adding that their progress and improved well-being were of importance to the ministry.
Prof. Daramola expressed gratitude to the management and staff of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, the Polytechnic, Ibadan, resource persons, the consultants, the graduands and other individuals and agencies that made the training and empowerment programme a success.
In his remarks, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, Professor Olatunde Fawole, who was represented by the Registrar, Mr. Ayodele Fehintola said that the skills the trainees had acquired would no doubt assist them tremendously to uplift themselves and transform the country.
Speaking earlier, the consultant of the training programme, Dr. Benjamin Irikefe said that the training was planned to make the trainees employable by giving them requisite skills to be employers of labour and not job seekers.
Dr. Irikefe disclosed that the trainees were rigorously taken through various skills in Confectioneries such as: making of meat pie, fish pie, chicken pie, chin-chin, samosa, puf puf , kebab, cakes, etc. In Household Products Technology, they were trained in the production of : dish wash, body wash, car wash, hair wash, hair conditioner, powder detergent, insecticide, germicide, packaging and marketing strategies of products.
Responding on behalf of the trainees, Angela Essien appreciated the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs for organizing the training and empowerment programme.
Essien added that the training programme had laid the foundation for them to transform themselves and their communities in the Niger Delta region.
The Minister of State earlier paid a courtesy visit on the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and thanked the state government for the hospitality accorded him and his entourage.
The minister told the governor who was represented by his deputy, Otunba Moses Alake that he was in the state for the graduation ceremony of 50 Niger Delta women sponsored for a skills acquisition training and empowerment programme at the Polytechnic, Ibadan.
Otunba Moses Alake welcome the minister and his entourage to Oyo State and wished them a happy stay.
He commended the ministry for the skills acquisition training and empowerment programme, adding that that was the right thing to do.
The Deputy Governor said that Nigeria needed technicians who were in short supply in the country and could be sourced locally through skills acquisition training programmes.

Marshall H. Gundu
Director Press.