Paul Osuyi, Asaba
THE National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has said that a total of 10,000 women and youths were empowered under various initiatives in Delta State from the last quarter of last year till date.
Director General of NDE, Dr. Nasir Mohammed Argungu, disclosed this in Asaba, the state capital, where the directorate disbursed interest-free loans to 500 beneficiaries under the Micro Enterprise Enhancement Scheme (MEES) initiative.
Represented by Mrs. Henrietta Ifesime, Argungu gave further breakdown of the 10,000 beneficiaries, saying that 1,500 women and youths had undergone vocational skills training during the period under review.
He said the 1,300 women who were trained in cosmetology were given starter packs with a cash backing of N5,000.00 to enable the beneficiaries open their businesses.
According to him, the directorate also issued “Basic Business Training certificates to 6,700 prospective beneficiaries under the CBN/NDE collaboration towards accessing the Agric-Business Small Micro Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
He stated that youth employment has witnessed rapid intervention by the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, noting that in recent times, a lot of youths and women have been empowered through various policies and programmes of the administration.
Argungu advised the beneficiaries of the interest-free loans to utilise it judiciously by investing it in profitable businesses that yield dividends to enable them sustain their families.
State Director of NDE, Francis Aninye, disclosed that the package was N10,000.00 interest-free loans each for the beneficiaries, adding that while 250 persons were selected from the Asaba axis, the other 250 persons were selected from Warri area of the state.
Aninye said the directorate was mindful of the amount being given out as loans, saying that any business must start from a humble beginning before growing into large scale enterprise, advising the beneficiaries to invest the money wisely. Special guest at the disbursement ceremony, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie, who was represented by Emma Ejiofor also encouraged the beneficiaries to utilise the funds wisely in order to stand the chance of being recommended for higher loans in future.