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The Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce (PHCCIMA), in collaboration with the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), has held an entrepreneurial fair to engage 50 Niger Delta youths trained by the Amnesty office in various vocational skills.
The programme coordinator and special adviser to the President on PAP, Professor Charles Quaker Dokubo, said the entrepreneurial fair is to showcase goods and services achieved in the private sector through the Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) established by the trainees.
According to him, the three-day event, which featured business conferences and exhibition of products and services held at Hotel Presidential, was meant to improve on the business of the trainees by providing links for expansion, with less dependence on young entrepreneurs fighting for self-elevation into the market.
According to him, the value chain effect of this fair will serve as motivator to other delegates in taking their businesses serious. When these businesses are booming, it will offer opportunities for expansion thus contributing to job creation and wealth generation, which is in line with the vision at the PAP.”
He said the Post Training and Engagement unit of the Presidential Amnesty has so far empowered about 4,000 delegates saying that the samples of the 50 delegates participated in the entrepreneurial fair. Riding on the partnership of PHCCIMA, there will be an avenue for PAP delegates’ interaction with key stakeholders of the business world, such as financiers, investors, mentors, etc., he was quoted as saying.
Dokubo stated that the entrepreneurial fair would promote industry and entrepreneurship in the Niger Delta by promoting, improving and showcasing successful businesses of PAP delegates.
In his presentation, president of the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Dr Emi Membere Otaji urged the Federal Government to implement Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo’s call for oil companies to relocate their headquarters to their areas of operations to develop those areas. He also expressed the need to reorient and train youths and community leaders to discard the rent seeking and entitlement mentality about the dignity of labour so they can stop being hostile to any form of business activities in their area.
Represented by council member, Mrs Edughom Hanson, the PHCCIMA boss noted that the chamber has undertaken to throw its weight behind the programme because it sees it as fundamental to peace, security, job and wealth creation in the state and Niger delta in general.
He said as the mouthpiece of the organized private sector whose key interest is to mentor and ensure that businesses thrive, nothing can be more valuable than to engage in this collaboration.
He commended the management of the PAP saying the disarmament, demobilization/Rehabilitation and Reintegration process under the present coordinator has been more potent, adding that this is key to lasting solution and peace in the region. He urged them to network, access new opportunities and build bridges for business linkages.
In his remarks, the Rivers State governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, restated that the peaceful nature of the state had continued to attract events to the state.
Represented by his special adviser on Amnesty Programme, Mr Ken Chinda, the governor said, “Last week, we hosted NAFEST, the University Games are currently here and the Amnesty Entrepreneurial Fair is here. These according to him are indications that Rivers State is peaceful.
We want everybody to forget the negative narrative about the Niger Delta. It is unhealthy for people to brand us names.
“The youths of the Niger Delta are creative and industrious; our youths are not lazy. We have disbursed N200 million to youths in business in Rivers State.”
Earlier, one of the beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme, Mr Lawrence Enoch, expressed gratitude to the Amnesty Office for training and empowering him in his fashion and design business.
Enoch, who hails from Bonny Local Government Area, pointed out that he had since 2016, when he started the business, employed over 10 workers and opened two branches.
