Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has said his administration is targeting a minimum of 50,000 direct jobs through empowerment programmes over the next four years.

The Governor made the disclosure when the National Working Committee of the PDP in the South South zone led by its Zonal Chairman, Dr Cairo Ojougboh, paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Asaba, on Tuesday.

According to him, his administration was committed to delivering prosperity to Deltans, saying apart from ensuring infrastructure development of the state, within the next four years, more than 50, 000 direct jobs would be achieved through the empowerment programmes of his administration.

“As a state, we have sent out forms for various empowerment programmes, it is our hope that in the first phase of the empowerment programme, we will be able to impact directly on 6,000 persons by providing gainful employment as we intend to roll out these empowerment programmes every six months throughout the course of our administration so, if we are able to, through the process alone, empower 6,000 Deltans every six months, we will be able to provide more than 50,000 direct jobs at the end of our administration,” Okowa said.

The Governor assured the leadership of the PDP that the party would remain strong, especially in the South-South zone, saying: “I believe the South-South geo-political zone is PDP and will continue to be PDP, collectively, we will work to retain Bayelsa State and reclaim Edo State.

“We will be very responsive to the needs of our people, we will be just and equitable to build confidence in our people, soon, we will be appointing another set of Commissioners, we have also tried to put other processes in place to get the government running and we are looking forward to constituting the boards of the various agencies and parastatals in the month of August, we are looking forward to men and women who understand the manifesto of our party and our SMART programme to run the various agencies and parastatals.”

Governor Okowa commended the zonal working committee of the PDP for working to strengthen the party.

Earlier, Dr Ojougboh said they were on tour of states of the South-South zone “preaching what will make the PDP stronger. He declared that “things will change for the better, we must recapture Edo State and retain Bayelsa State in the forthcoming elections in those states.”

“The zone is very impressed with Delta State government, the government is working and we are happy that you (Governor Okowa) are representing the party very well,” Dr Ojougboh said.

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