The Niger Delta Development Commission has affirmed its commitment to pursuing Public Private Partnerships arrangements to drive development in the Niger Delta region.
NDDC said it will not continue to rely on oil multinationals and the federal government to raise funds for development projects in the region, assuring that the Commission was now rebranded for sustainable development.
NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, speaking during an Executive Management and staff meeting at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, announced that a summit was aimed to enable stakeholders explore opportunities for collaboration.
Ogbuku stated the NDDC would not relent in its PPP campaign to bring sustainable development to the Niger Delta region.
The NDDC boss further stated that the Commission will also focus on capacity building for youths in the region.
“We are going to focus on youth development programmes, we have come up with a new concept of working with the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce in the training of our youths and young entrepreneurs.
“We will show the world that we have young entrepreneurs. The various Chambers of Commerce will help us to make the programme sustainable. We will focus on empowering young people because government cannot employ everybody.”
African Agricultural experts converge in Israel for climate change mitigation
As part of the fight against global climate change, Israel’s Foreign Ministry hosted experts from African countries, some of which have no diplomatic relations with Israel.
“The threat of the desert poses a danger to many countries with climate change. Israel is fighting this threat at home and is contributing its experience and capabilities for the benefit of Africa.
“We will continue to deepen and strengthen our ties with countries that desire this for the sake of the prosperity and stability of the region,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said.
As part of the initiative, a number of agricultural innovation experts from the countries of the region, some of which Israel does not have diplomatic relations with, were invited to Israel.
The aim of the visit is to assist them by “identifying and mapping the challenges in their region, while finding solutions combining Israeli knowledge and technologies, which have proven successful in the past in the fight against desertification in Israel.”
“Among the prominent participants in the program is the niece of Chad’s foreign minister that Israel has renewed diplomatic ties with in recent years. Other representatives from the countries of the region came from Djibouti, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Nigeria, and Senegal,” the statement said.
The training program of the innovation community “Desertec” is part of the Great Green Wall initiative. It was launched at the last climate conference COP27 in Egypt, as part of the desire to battle the spread of the desert in the Sahel region.
