Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has reiterated his administration’s commitment to the economic wellbeing of Deltans by eradicating hunger, diseases, ignorance and joblessness through its Three-Point Agenda and effectively creating a Delta State Beyond Oil.

He gave this reassurance on Tuesday at the Exhibition and Certificate Award Ceremony of Delta State Economic Reintegration Programme (DESERP), in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.

Uduaghan, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama (SAN), said that every Deltan needs to be integrated into the economy of the state in pursuit of creating a Delta State Beyond Oil. He identified the people as the greatest asset in the state, saying that they need to be given the opportunity to fully develop themselves in every skill.

The governor noted that DESERP was designed to provide an economic platform that will give hope to Deltans. “We are making every effort to give hope to the hopeless, skill to the unskilled and employment to the unemployed in Delta State, by providing technical support for this great programme,” he said.

Uduaghan said DESOPADEC, as sponsors of the programme and an interventionist agency, receives 60 per cent of the revenue to develop the oil producing communities, and that one of its primary aims is to develop the youths, women and men who are ready to acquire skill. He described the initiative as an all-round programme intended to give everyone the opportunity to acquire one skill or another to set up their own business.

In his words, “Once you are self employed, you become an employer of labour, you decide how many people you want to employ; and, how much you want to develop then depends on your power to develop your business. So what we are doing is to achieve one goal, the goal of Delta Beyond Oil, which means all hands in Delta State must be preoccupied with doing one thing or the other.”

Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, who was a Special Guest, said that in a country like Nigeria, to be self reliant there is the need for government to diversify the economy and encourage the people to be self employed and so become the employers of labour through skill acquisition and entrepreneurs programmes like DESERP.

Wogu noted that DESERP provides an opportunity for interested Deltans to acquire a wide range of skills which they can put into productive use and thereby improve their standard of living.

He declared that the programme is in line with the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, which have job creation and poverty reduction as major components.

Ms. Nnena Ahukannah, CEO of MCAF Associates and managers of DESERP, said DESERP was set up by the Delta State Government in 2010 with the primary goal of helping the indigenous people of Delta State to become financially self-reliant.

She stated that over 12,000 participants, who cut across a wide spectrum of the society, have been registered with ages ranging from 16 to 65, of both sexes, graduates and non-graduates, professionals and non-professionals alike, Ahukannah added that so far 2,700 participants have been trained in various skills including, fish and pig farming, poultry farming, furniture making and catering, as well as others.

•Photo (L-R) shows Delta State Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama (SAN), Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, and CEO of MCAF Associates and Managers of DESERP, Ms. Nnena Ahukannah, at the Exhibition and Certificate Award Ceremony of Delta State Economic Reintegration Programme (DESERP) . . . Tuesday in Effurun, Delta State.