Wife of the President of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari; Hon. Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; Hon. Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed; Chairman Board of Trustees, Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI), Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, today the 3rd of January, 2018, joined the Founder of ESI, Mrs. Judith Amaechi, to champion the discourse on empowerment and sustainable livelihood across country, especially in the Niger Delta.
Declaring the 6th Graduation of ESI/NDDC Entrepreneurial and Skills Acquisition open in Port Harcourt, Mrs Buhari said skill and vocational training were very key in promoting speedy development in the country.
Mrs Buhari, who was represented by the Wife of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Mrs Yakubu Dogara, expressed utmost delight in the laudable milestone Dame Judith had achieved. She further thank the Minister of Transportation, for supporting and giving her the opportunity to pursue and realise her dream.
The Chairman Board of Trustees, ESI and the DG. Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, while disclosing that the vision of ESI is to empower and lift people from poverty, narrated the experience that birthed the laudable vision.
According to him, "a woman once paced the streets of Port Harcourt and saw a lot of young people seemingly living beyond hope, yet they possessed an undeniable wealth of energy begging for the right channels to exert them. They were living below average quality of life and painfully, they had no skill. She was challenged. Her God-given vision to lift people out of poverty and empower them with skills was stirred; skills beyond the untenable conventional handout.
"A zeal to impact her society was ignited.
She sought to deal with the most vulnerable in the society; young helpless children, women who couldn't help themselves and the youth with seemingly bleak future.
''Her vision inspired her to do greatness. The vision led to a passion, the passion became an inspiration which became her life. Today, we are here to mark a milestone in that vision and chosen passion, and that woman is Dame Judith Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi.''
Dr. Dakuku also stated that the Board of ESI has been inspired by her vision.
"We have been motivated by her vision and the power of that vision is what sustained us. No obstacle is too great for us to surmount, no hindrance will stop us! Every day as we sleep, as we dream, we dream of a Nigeria where every young man will have equal opportunity to realize their potential. We dream of a Nigeria where every woman will be equipped to cater for her home. We dream of a Nigeria where people are self-sufficient.
"We at ESI made a commitment to give our best and to partner with who ever is willing to go all through the course with us. It gave birth to the partnership of ESI with Niger Delta Development Commission. We salute and thank the management of NDDC.
'When the Millennium Development Goal was transformed to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), it simply spoke to our vision of building a society that is sustainable, local communities that are sustainable and raising young people who can live sustainable lives because we realized that giving people arms or handouts was not sustainable, so, we keyed to the sustainable development goal 4 and 8 to give our people quality education and employment, and make them employable.
"In the pursuit of that goal, the goal 4 and 8 of the SDG, which is a Untied Nations initiative subscribed and endorsed by world leaders and Nations of the world, we sat on the board of ESI and realised that our educational system had some gaps that doesn't empower people with vocational skill to be the best they can be so they can earn a livelihood. We decided to address that gap to empower people with skills and give them an entrepreneurship mindset," he stressed.
He thanked the NDDC for the vision and courage with which they partnered with ESI. He assured the Commission of ESI's commitment to bring pride to, and light up the Niger Delta.
He also assured the people that "ESI will not relent in its vision until every home is empowered".
On his part, the MD of NDDC, Mr Nsima Ekere, said the Agency was awaiting the passage of its 2018 budget to further train more Niger Delta youths in vocational skills. He opined that the move would decimate violence and cult-related unrest in the Niger Delta region.
Speaking during the program, the Founder/President ESI, Dame Judith Amaechi acknowledged the strong support and presence of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
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