By Emma Sunday
Hundreds of protesters on yesterday stormed the Dr Obi Wali International Conference Centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, venue for the 25th anniversary celebration of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), protesting alleged abandonment of their skills training centre by the Commission.
The protesters, who were said to be trainers and trainees of a 3-month skills acquisition programme organised by a religious organisation, Victorious Prayer Network, (aka, King Makers Ministries), accused the NDDC of not fulfilling promises of sponsoring the training and providing starters pack to the over 2,000 beneficiaries.
They also accused the commission of neglecting them as their centre was not mentioned or highlighted among programmes of the NDDC during their 25th anniversary celebration.
The protesters who sang songs, also displayed several placards to drive home their demands such as; ‘NDDC fails to graduate Niger Delta skills acquisition 2nd edition, your action speak volume, please respond to our demand, Dr Samuel Ogbuku,’ ‘NDDC please release funds for our starter packs, we are done with the training’. among others.
The protest was said to have disrupted the anniversary celebration of the Commission, as it took dignitaries some times to enter the venue, until security agencies intervened.
Prophetess Mrs. Victoria Agori, Leader of the protesters and founder of the Victorious Prayer Network, organisers of the skills acquisition scheme, during the protest, said the training programme held in two phases with the first in Bayelsa State and the second in Rivers State.
Prophetess Agori said the beneficiaries comprising youths, teenagers, men and women, were trained in different skills such as; catering, tailoring, barbing, Information Communication Technology (ICT), hairdressing, electricals, video and photography, beed and gele making, shoe and soap/detergent making, and cosmetic production.
Agori, who is also the Founder of United Izon Tare-Ogbo International, claimed that she and her partners have spent millions of naira and also borrowed to run the centre, empowering the students with different skills, but regretted that they have been abandoned by the NDDC, leading to delay in graduation of the trainees, which was due for March, 2025.
She particularly noted that NDDC’s Director of Skills Development, Barr. Lyna Okara, represented by the Directorate of Commercial and Industrial Development, Mr. Anderson Ukeh, in March, 2025 during a visit to the skills acquisition centre with a team from the NDDC, to inspect the progress of the training, commended them for doing a great job, and expressed satisfaction with what they saw.
She said, the NDDC speaking through Okara’s representative, Mr. Anderson Ukeh, after the inspection, assured them that the commission under the leadership of Chiedu Ebie as Board Chairman, and Dr. Samuel Ogbuku as Managing Director, were committed to human capacity development, empowerment of the youths, and will not fail in their commitment.
“We made a proposal to the NDDC for skill acquisition, which was approved. They promised us financial support to run the programme and also provide the beneficiaries with starters pack during their graduation. But we are yet to hear from them, 3 months after the programme.
We trained 2000 persons in different skills. 1000 in Rivers State and 1000 in Bayelsa State. The training has since march and the students are yet to graduate till now, because NDDC has not fulfilled their promise.”
Agori pleaded with the Managing Director of NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku to prevail on some Staff of the Commission whom she alleged to be frustrating their efforts.
“So, we are calling on the NDDC management to keep to their promise of support and sponsorship, so that the trainees can graduate and go home with their starters pack. The are accusing me of receiving the money from NDDC and not doing the needful.”
Some of the protesting students urged the NDDC MD to facilitate the provision of their starters pack as promised by the organizers of the scheme to enable them graduate and develop themselves.
One of them identified as Favour said: “After the training three months ago, we have been waiting for our graduation and starters pack. I was trained in tailoring. I have the skill now, and I want the equipments so that I can use it to develop myself and take care of my family.
“We are pleading with the MD and the NDDC to help us, we are all Niger Delta people.”
Addressing the protesters, a representative from the NDDC appealed to the protesters to visit the Commission’s headquarter and for proper handling of the situation, stressing that the demonstration was ill timed as the day was set aside for celebration and not for protest.
