NDDC Begins Programme to Address Challenges of Niger Delta Youths

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

In a bid to address the challenges facing the youths in the Niger Delta region, the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC) has launched a new programme called ‘Niger Delta Talent Hunt (NIDETH)’.

The programme, according to the NDDC Interim Administrator, Dr. Efiong Akwa, is targeted at harnessing the youths’ creative gifts in the entertainment industry.

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Akwa, said the commission would continue to create programmes to address the challenges facing the youths in the region.

He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Umana Umana, for supporting activities aimed at elevating the initiatives of the youths in the Niger Delta region.

Akwa said: “Our focus in this programme is to identify the talented youths, build them up and expose them to the world. We want to use this as an opportunity to provide a platform to expose the hidden talents in the region. If you build the youths, you build the nation.”

Also, in his remarks, the NDDC Director, Youths and Sports, Mr. Offiong Ephraim, noted that the NIDETH is a flagship programme of the NDDC Youths and Sports Directorate, aimed at exposing the inherent talents of youths in the Niger Delta region.

He said the talent hunt programme would kick off from Ondo State with the finals taking place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The NIDETH programme, Ephraim stated, covers the nine NDDC mandate states.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser on Youths to the Interim Administrator, Udengs Eradiri, said the Niger Delta youths are enterprising, noting that artistes from the region had challenges of getting support and platforms to express themselves.

He said: “The creative industry is one area that we can engage a lot of idle young people. We will continue to play our role in supporting institutions to create the platform to push our young people to international community. We must keep the creative sector alive in the Niger Delta to develop young talents to showcase to the world.”

One of the leading artistes in the region and consultant for the programme, Mr. Okiri Harrison (aka Harry Song), said the new NDDC youth programme was a dream come true for those in the creative sector, noting that 80 percent of the entertainment industry was rooted in the Niger Deltaregion.