Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Youth Empowerment and Social Support Operations (YESSO 2.0) has explored areas of strategic partnership with the Presidential Amnesty Programme of the Federal Government particularly in the area of vocational training and skills acquisition for youths of Niger Delta region.
The National Programmes Manager of YESSO, Mr Richard Romanus, stated this when he led a delegation to visit the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, retired Major General Barry Ndiomu, Mni, in his office in Abuja.
The visit according to the YESSO 3.0 Programmes Manager was informed by the need to partner with relevant institutions to drive the YESSO 2.0 core mandate which is focused on youth Empowerment.
He hinted that YESSO 2.0 proposed to build vocational and skills acquisition hubs across the six geopolitical zones, hence the collaboration with the Presidential Amnesty Programme was important because of the peculiarities of the region to ensure the programme help in reducing tension caused by youth unemployment.
According to him, this was in line with the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu’s effort in supporting the actualisation of President Tinubu’s ‘renewed hope agenda’ of empowering young people across the country and the fight against poverty in the country.
Responding, the Amnesty boss, retired Major General Barry Ndiomu, Mni congratulated Mr. Richard Romanus on his new appointment and describe YESSO programme as strategic partners in youth Empowerment.
Major General Ndiomu said henceforth there have to be deliberate efforts to fix the Niger Delta considering the importance of the region in the economy of Nigeria.
He said the Presidential Amnesty programme has six vocational training centres at different stages of completion across the Niger Delta region.
According to him, serious attention would be given to oil and gas skills, agriculture, energy related vocational skills, maritime skills and many others.
While acknowledging the need for the partnership, Ndiomu said that skill acquisition and job creation were necessary for the development of the region and would go a long way to ease unemployment-related tension.
