The recently appointed Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board, Lauretta Onochie has pledged the commission’s support to addressing the needs of youths in Rivers State and the whole of the Niger Delta region.
Onochie made this known while receiving delegates from the Ogoni Youths Peace Movement on Thursday at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.
While speaking at the event Onochie said that in other to achieve proper youth empowerment that it was important to carry out proper need assessment as every youth’s need varies according to individual or community. She also emphasized the importance of community engagement in the Niger Delta region to foster development in the Area
The Chairman also described the 5-point proposal submitted by the group as one within the principal mandate of the NDDC and promised transparency in the execution of projects in her regime.
Also speaking at the courtesy call was the Vice President of Ogoni Youths Peace Movement, Comrade Nulai Tambari, he encouraged the NDDC to organise skill acquisition programmes within the region, especially among the youths and women as he said they could help improve the livelihoods of people living in these communities.
He further stated that social vices like kidnapping, bunkering and stealing would be a thing of the past if the quality of livelihood of persons in these communities were improved.