Communities spread across four states of the Niger Delta region have donated parcels of land to the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for the agricultural component of its Holistic Opportunities for Programme and Engagement, Project HOPE.
Speaking at the onboarding exercise at the NDDC Headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Commission’s Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, said that the formal engagement with the communities spread across four states of the region, (Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Imo and Rivers) was preparatory to the commencement of the second phase of Project HOPE, expected to kick-off in June.
The NDDC Chief Executive Officer said Project HOPE was born out of the Renewed hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, stating: “The programme is holistic because it is all-encompassing and sustainable.”
According to Ogbuku, Project HOPE was designed to develop an exhaustive digital repository comprising vital information about the youths of the Niger Delta region, including their qualifications, skills, interests, needs and current employment status.
He said that the database would serve as a plank for data-driven planning, enabling the formulation of impactful policies and programmes targeted at the youths.
“The programme will help eliminate the past practice of youths benefitting in our programmes multiple times. But now, once you’ve been engaged, it will be recorded in our database,” he said.
Ogbuku said that the NDDC had identified what should be done to fill the development gap in the Niger Delta region, stating: “We need to create a balance between infrastructure project and agricultural programmes that will help to guarantee food security in Nigeria’s oil-rich region.”
The NDDC boss commended the communities for partnering with the Commission by donating many hectres of land for the agricultural programme targeted at the youths of the region. He promised them maximum value for the land they donated, noting: “it will be mutually beneficial and rewarding.”
Earlier in his opening remarks, the NDDC Executive Director, Projects and the Chairman of Project HOPE Implementation Committee, Sir Victor Antai, said that Project HOPE was a signature project in the Niger Delta region.
He declared: “Project HOPE means training of our teeming youths. It means empowerment and it also means changing the toga of militancy to the one of skills and useful youths.
“I assure you that the HOPE initiative is real and will be sustained. The database that we are building will not only help us to select the right persons, but it will also help us to monitor their progress. We are using technology to ensure that you do not need to know anybody to be enlisted into the programme.”
He stated: “Project HOPE is a visionary initiative that will change the narrative of the Niger Delta region from one of agitation and unrest to peace and prosperity and assured that the youths will be matched with suitable and legitimate means of livelihood.”
The NDDC Director, Agriculture and Fisheries, Mrs. Winifred Madume, said that the project would benefit the people in diverse ways, as the programme would deploy mechanized farming in the rural communities.
On his part, the Consultant for the Project HOPE, Ambassador Blessing Fubara, thanked the communities and their traditional rulers for teaming up with the NDDC in the interest of the development of the Niger Delta region.
Also speaking, the Paramount Ruler of Ewoi community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Chief Andy Inengite applauded the NDDC for taking the initiative aimed at boosting farming in the rural communities, noting that the contributions of agriculture to national development could not be overstated.
