The Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Engr. Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, has described education as a critical factor in pulling people out of poverty.
Engr. Audu-Ohwavborua said this at the venue of the ongoing interviews for the Commission’s Foreign Post-Graduate Scholarship Programme in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He noted that the scholarship will place a premium on merit while maintaining fairness and transparency. “We want to create a solid foundation for our children. We want to send out our best.”
“Since 2010, we have trained students in foreign universities. We want to emphasize professionalism and merit and the applicants must come from the Niger Delta area.
“We are sending the scholars out to represent our country. They are going to be our worthy ambassadors. The interview panel were randomly selected to ensure fairness. I have seen positive comments from participants and I am happy about that.”
Furthermore, the NDDC Chief Executive Officer reasoned that it was time people began to hear the good stories about the Commission.
“It is not only the negative stories that should be coming out of NDDC. This is one of the good stories about the NDDC that we want the world to know. The 200 scholars to be selected will be our ambassadors. I am impressed with what we are doing and it is getting positive comments from the participants.
“The people of the Niger Delta region have been marginalized in the past so education is the key we are giving to them to excel. If we want a nation that is prosperous, we must build people that are prosperous,” he noted.
In his remarks, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Prof. Chris Wigwe, SAN, and Chairman of the Interview Panel, assured the NDDC that only the best students would be selected. He said the programme was laudable as it would contribute to the building of human capacity of our people in the Niger Delta region.
He stated: “The NDDC is making a huge difference in the lives of our students. I pray that the Commission will continue with this laudable programme which has helped many youths in the region. The Commission should also extend the scholarship to students in Nigerian universities”
Wigwe said that the foreign scholarship was a boost not just for the beneficiaries but for the entire Niger Delta region, because it would give the youths the opportunity to develop themselves and acquire technical expertise for the benefit of the people of the region.
