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From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission,(HYPPADEC) has commenced training of 690 Benue youths in the acquisition of different skills to enable them become self reliant.
The Managing Director of HYPPADEC, Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa disclosed this during the flag off of the Commission’s Youth Transformation Programme held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital on Tuesday.
Yelwa who noted that the programme which is meant for graduates and non graduates would run between three and six months explained further that a token of N15,000 and N10,000 had been earmarked as monthly allowance for each participating graduate and non graduate respectively.
According to him, the programme is intended to help in reducing the youth unemployment rate among the youths in the country which he lamented had become a challenge.
“This programme will enable the youth to be useful to themselves and the society. We got funding from international donors. A provision of N10,000 for non graduates and N15,000 monthly for graduates under the programme.
“After training, we are negotiating with banks and others for a take off grant by way of loan or grants. We issued 690 forms and 638 returned the forms which is the highest response in all the six states participating in the programme,” Sadiq said.
On his part, HYPADEC’s Chairman, Dr. Joseph Ityav explained that the commission keyed into the President Muhammadu Buhari’s youth empowerment initiatives, by adopting the youth centric approach towards delivering on its mandate of providing succor to communities ravaged by prolonged effects of hydroelectric power production.
“As part of our continuous efforts towards sustaining our youth centric approach, we have carefully designed the youth empowerment program, which mark a major event in our commission today to assist the youth to learn their preferred skills that would enable them contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
“It is also our hope that through this initiative, we will refocus the attention of the youth to meaningful ventures that would divert their attention away from social vices and other negative tendencies in the society,” Ityav said.
In a remark while flagging off the programme, the state Governor, Samuel Ortom commended the Commission for its intervention in the areas of provision of boreholes, healthcare, scholarship as well as life jackets to people in the riverine areas of the state.
The Governor who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Tony Ijohor (SAN) enjoined HYPPADEC to allow Benue youths who were yet to submit their forms do so, so that they can also benefit from the programme.
Also speaking, Benue State Coordinator of HYPPADEC, Mrs. Magdalene Jam-Ayu said the commission will continue to focus on vocational/technical, domestic and agricultural enterprise in its training programs for the Benue youths.
She therefore called on all the participants to take their training seriously so that they can become self reliant to be able to contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.
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