Fasthire Lead Urges N’Delta Youths to Embrace Enterprise, Professional Visibility

The Fasthire Services Team Lead, Mr. Richard Okiasi, who also serves as the NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs Coordinator for the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, has reaffirmed his company’s commitment to helping young people access meaningful career opportunities, develop relevant skills and build sustainable livelihoods across the Niger Delta.

He made the call while speaking as a panelist at an event organised by the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) to mark the 2026 International Youth Day in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

The event, themed “Empowering Youth Through Career Pathways for Economic Development and Sustainable Peace in the Niger Delta,” brought together more than 320 youths from Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Edo and Abia States.

Representing Fasthire Services, a subsidiary of Okverse Services Limited who are in partnership with PIND for the event, Okiasi urged Niger Delta youths to move beyond dependency and entitlement mentality by embracing entrepreneurship, innovation, skills development and professional visibility as pathways to economic independence.

He challenged young people to take greater responsibility for creating opportunities rather than seeing themselves primarily as recipients of government or oil-sector opportunities.

According to him, Niger Delta youths need to be confident and deliberate about showcasing their abilities and documenting their achievements both online and offline, particularly on professional platforms such as LinkedIn.

He stressed that visibility is important in this generation and it builds credibility, noting that the talents and accomplishments of young people in the Niger Delta must be seen, recognised and trusted if they are to attract opportunities, investors and partnerships. He also pointed to the fact that the more youths we have from the region doing exploits and documenting it, the more it’ll drive investors’ confidence to the professionals and creatives that we have in the Niger Delta.

The Executive Director of PIND, Mr. Sam Daibo, represented by Mr. Patrick Ekpe, said youth empowerment must go beyond training to include functional systems that connect skills with sustainable economic opportunities.

His Royal Highness Theophilus Moses, the BOT Chairman of KEFFESO HCDT; Chinedu Ikemefuna of Vectis Business Options Limited; Blessing Anozim of Global Sharpers Community Warri; and Onyekachi Ajah, the Youth Employment Pathways (YEP) Coordinator at PIND were all part of the panel session.

The event also featured a Career Opportunities and Support Fair, exposing participants to opportunities across ICT, agribusiness, renewable energy, construction, hospitality, and other emerging sectors.

At the end of his session, Okiasi reaffirmed that at Fasthire Services, they’ll continue supporting businesses to hire, train, and manage qualified talents while supporting professionals to become gainfully employed. He used the opportunity to call on other well-meaning organizations to partner with tackle unemployment and underemployment issues in the Niger Delta.

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ANLCA, MWUN, Others Threaten Shutdown over Port Roads, E-Call Up at Onne

By Paul Williams   Freight forwarders and truckers at Onne Port in Rivers State have threatened to shut down operations over the poor condition of the port’s access roads and the manner in which the e-call-up system recently introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is being implemented.  Six associations operating at the port, along with the Onne Youths Congress, the umbrella body for youths in Onne Community, noted that despite the huge resources accruing from Onne Port, the access roads leading to the port had become a death trap.  The associations on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, issued a four-day ultimatum to the Federal Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority to suspend the e-call-up system until facilities such as loading bays are provided and dilapidated access roads are repaired.  Chairman of ANLCA, Onne Seaport Chapter, Chief Ifeanyi Isikaku, while reading a communique, expressed the associations’ deep concern and frustration over worsening operating conditions for members and the host community.  The unions said NPA rolled out the e-call-up system without first providing adequate holding bays, prompting “the unabated illegal parking of trucks on Onne roads that has choked traffic, damaged goods and exposed workers and residents to danger.”  They also described the port’s internal access roads as “deplorable” and a “death trap,” blaming the road condition for container-fall incidents, injuries and loss of life.  Isikaku said, “We can no longer tolerate unfulfilled NPA commitments and roads that endanger lives and destroy goods. If holding bays had been provided before the e-call-up rollout, this crisis would have been avoided.”  He pointed out that the situation is unfortunate for a port that has contributed up to N487 billion in Customs revenue alone to the federal coffers.  Isikaku said Customs revenue from Onne Port Command between January and July 2026 was approximately N439 billion, with an additional N48 billion from the Oil and Gas Free Zone — a combined N487 billion over seven months.  He called on the Federal Government, through the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, to allocate a portion of that revenue to fix and maintain internal roads and port facilities.  “Onne contributes significantly to national revenue; a fraction of the N487 billion collected between January and July should be used to repair our roads and protect workers and the host community,” he said.  The unions, among other things, demanded an immediate end to illegal parking on Onne roads to restore free traffic flow, urgent maintenance and repair of all internal access roads to prevent container falls and safeguard lives, and a ban on members’ participation in arbitrary or bogus payments associated with the e-call-up system and port transport.  Chairman of the Maritime Union of Nigeria, Eastern Port, Uche Ogbu, whose union bears the brunt of the dilapidated roads, said, “Our members will not be compelled to make arbitrary payments for a system that lacks the infrastructure to work.”  He noted the unions’ resolve on the suspension of the e-call-up system from Monday, August 17, 2026, until adequate holding bays are constructed to accommodate current truck volumes; the suspension will remain in place until all listed challenges are addressed.  …

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