No fewer than 200 Small and Medium Scale Businesses (SMSB) have been empowered with grant to support and increase their capacities by the Delta States Oil Producing Development Commission (DESOPADEC).
The Commission said that the empowerment of the SMSB would create direct and indirect jobs with the 200 beneficiaries trained on various entrepreneurship skills.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO), Chief Festus Ochonogor, made the disclosure on Sunday December 8 2024, as a guest at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUK), Delta State Council’s Journalists Hangout in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
The empowerment programme tagged “Business Talk/Presentation of Starter Packs”, the 5th batch of empowerment programmes organized by the Commission, saw participants leave with various equipment and the sum of N500, 000 cash in transfer to their bank accounts to establish their own businesses.
Chief Ochonogor said: “recently, there was the empowerment we did, which is the fifth one now, meaning we have been doing it and this last one was just the fifth one.
“Where 200 youths were empowered with starter packs and also given a seed money of N500, 000 which has not happened before.
“And this is because of the good intensions and support of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, to make sure that wherever you are, you are strengthening the actualization of the MORE Agenda because you cannot do anything outside the MORE Agenda.
“So, even if you are in Torogbene or you are in Burutu, so long as you are under the State, the target is to ensure that we strengthen and expand the realization of the MORE Agenda which all of us are also party to”.
Speaking on alleged fraud in the recent empowerment, he said there was never a time participants were told to expect N1.5 million, stressing that it was disclosed from the onset that a seed money of N500, 000 would be given to help them stand in their various skills.
HeR him: “From inception we didn’t hide the seed money. Because everything that has to do with the programme, was well presented and was approved and from that moment we made it known.
“The seed money is N500, 000 and because it was increased by His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, that N200, 000 that it was then, will not be able to assist them in setting up their workshops.
“He is the one that increased it from N200, 000 to N500, 000. Soz there was never a time there was any attempt or there was proposal that the seed money will be N1.5 million.
“We try as much as possible to ensure that people would be able to follow us, we are transparent, we don’t hide because you will still need to come to Asaba to present it.
“If it something you are doing in that place, you can hide but this is where the power is and you will get the approval from here. Soz you cannot hide and there was nothing like N1.5 million”, he explained.
On those who are yet to get their money transferred to their accounts, the DESOPADEC MD, said: “maybe it either has to do with account but I know that a night before that day, that was when most of them started getting their money.
“And if there is anybody that has not received that person can also draw our attention to the Director of Finance or to himself and we will look at it but I know it has to do with either bank or the account if the participant”, he added.
Earlier, Chairman of the Council, Comrade Churchill Oyowe, charged the DESOPADEC boss, to ensure openness, to all ethnic nationalities and judicious use of the Commission’s budget.
The Chairman was flanked by the Secretary, Comrade Victor Sorokwu, the treasurer, Comrade Caroline Ubini and national leader, who was described as a legend, Comrade Ogwude Akpati among others.
