By Loveth Ojogun
The Federal government is set to collaborate with Greece on the training of Niger Delta youths and others in shipbuilding, fishing, food sufficiency and employment generation.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said this when the representative of the Greece government in Nigeria, Concept Amadeus Limited, paid a working visit to the ministry on Tuesday, Sep. 3, in Abuja.
His Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Anietie Ekong, quoted Akpabio as saying that the ministry was poised to improve the standard of living of the people of the Niger Delta and Nigeria in general.
He commended the initiative which according to him, would reduce militancy and crises resulting from unemployment in the country.
The minister noted that the partnership would empower the youths in the Niger Delta region, stop the illegal fishing on Nigerian shores and also give Nigerians the opportunity to explore the value chain in the fishing industry.
Akpabio added that the host communities would be involved in the whole process to enable them own the project and provide the enabling environment for successful hosting of the dockyard.
He regretted that most areas in the Niger Delta might not be good for fishing because of oil exploration, adding that the Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta State and the Maritime Academy in Oron, Akwa Ibom State could be used as the training ground for the shipbuilding programme.
To ensure that the whole process is domesticated, Akpabio and the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Festus Keyamo, set up a five-man committee to work out detailed modalities of the training programme.
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