News Editor
From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi
The National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC) has equiped 689 youths in Benue state with various forms of starter packs to enable them grow their businesses and become self reliant.
The N-HYPPADEC Managing Director, (MD), Mr Abubakar Yelwa, who handed over the pack in Makurdi on Thursday, said all the beneficiaries were graduates of the Commission’s Youth Transformation Programme (YTP) in Benue State.
Yelwa said the 689 youths participated in the YTP training for three and six months would all receive various categories of starter packs.
He said the programme was conceived by the federal government to tackle widespread unemployment and pervasive poverty adversely affecting youths in the power-producing areas of the country.
He said the 689 youths were trained in 29 different vocational areas adding that the diversity and scope of the training programmes reflected the commitment of the commission to address various sectors of the economy.
He said fashion designing and tailoring had the largest number of beneficiaries with 129 trainees, with fish farming have 125 trainees while poultry farming had 84.
He said the training also included modern technological fields such as Computer Software and Web Design, CCTV Installation and phone repairs.
Yelwa further commended the Benue Government and the traditional rulers for their unending support to the commission while carrying out all their activities in the State.
In his remarks, Secretary to the Government to the Federation (SGF) Sen George Akume, said the Federal Government would continue to support N-HYPPADEC to succeed on her mandate.
Akume said the event sought to emancipate the teeming youths from the shackles of poverty that would see them witness a paradigm shift from that of unemployment to that of gainful employment, self-reliance and financial independence.
The SGF who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Simeon Tyungu, urged N-HYPPADEC to redouble their effort and energy towards taking the nation out of the doldrums of poverty.
He said “I feel obligated to commend the initiators of this life changing programme for going the extra mile to ensure that the 5000 beneficiaries across the six pioneer States of the Commission transit to business owners, by requesting business names of the participants and addresses which have already being registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).”
Speaking, the state Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia urged the Federal Government to continue to fund the commission and other government agencies to deliver on their mandates.
Alia who spoke through his Deputy, Barr Sam Ode, said the training has taken many youths off the streets and unlocked their potentials into the entrepreneurship world.
He further appealed to the Federal Government to increase the number of beneficiaries to for the State to 1000 in the next batch of trainees.
