The European Union (EU) has committed $6.35 million to empower youths and vulnerable groups in the Niger Delta with entrepreneurship and business development training, in a bid to reduce poverty and insecurity in the region.
The initiative, announced by Chorbe Joshua Gonlur, Consortium Manager for Search for Common Ground, was unveiled at the Social Media Listening Report validation meeting in Asaba, Delta State.
According to Gonlur, 794 individuals drawn from Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta States will benefit from the programme. Of this number, 595 participants are under the Search for Common Ground project, while 200 beneficiaries are selected through the Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN).
The training, delivered in collaboration with the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), will cover 66 communities identified as facing urgent livelihood and economic challenges. Participants will undergo three to six months of training across 23 sectors, ranging from technical and vocational skills to small-scale enterprise development.
Beneficiaries are expected to receive starter packs upon completion to launch small businesses. The programme also seeks to curb illegal oil bunkering, cultism, drug abuse, and other vices fueling insecurity in the region.
Recruitment was conducted through open advertisements and a community-led selection process to ensure transparency. Gonlur further disclosed that discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Labour and Employment to enhance the programme’s sustainability.
However, some stakeholders cautioned that without robust monitoring, transparency, and market access, the project risks falling into the pattern of past empowerment schemes that failed to yield long-term impact.
For many in the oil-rich but poverty-stricken Niger Delta, the EU-backed intervention offers a fresh opportunity. Yet, the challenge remains whether it can break cycles of dependency, corruption, and neglect that have hampered development in the region.
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