From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (Retd), has applauded the vision behind the garment factory and the fish farm, describing them as worthy ventures that can transform the state’s economy and take more young people out of the streets.
He said such investments are capable of enhancing the growth of SMEs, facilitate the empowerment and development of people in the Niger-Delta and make the region the new economic hub of Nigeria.
Dikio who was on the tour of facilities in Bayelsa State sequel to an agreement between the state government and the PAP to collaborate and build the capacity of youths in the state and the region said: “The idea behind the new training model is for the delegates to see the entrepreneurial side of things and seek to own their own and that is why we are here. To see some of the facilities in the state that will give us a guide.
“Like this factory, the delegates can be trained to own their own designs, carve a niche for themselves, like the Calvin Kleins of the world. People from all over the world can then order these indigenous designs and that opens doors for export. For the fish farm, we can have them train in aqua culture, and that is another very profitable area of entrepreneurship. So the options are there and we will utilize it.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the Bayelsa State Governor on PAP, Mr. Alaowei Opukeme; Commissioner for Agriculture, Chief David Alagoa, Commissioner for Trade, Industry and Investment, Mr. Otokito Federal accompanied Dikio on the tour.