NDDC Launches Youth Internship Scheme Portal, Warn Against Misconduct

The  Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has launched a Youth Internship Scheme, aimed at empowering 10,000 young people in the region with skills and stipends. 

Chiedu Ebie, Chairman of the Governing Board, unveiled the initiative, emphasizing its potential to transform the lives of beneficiaries.

The scheme, which is online and free, seeks to address the pressing issues of lack of education and skill sets among youths in the Niger Delta.

Ebie stressed that the programme is designed to provide a stipend during the internship period, enabling participants to learn a skill and become self-sufficient.

He noted that the every applicant will enroll Online registration, eliminating the need for intermediaries adding that the Age limit of 45 years, to ensure legitimate beneficiaries are targeted as well as emphasizing that there is Special provisions for persons living with disabilities

He said: “There is an age limit, we are not going to take pensioners and they will come and hide under the youth scheme. If you are over 45 years please, do not apply. I beg of you. Because you are not too far from retirement age. 

“Leave it for the youths that will still have at least two or three decades of work life and active life. When you do that, you will be denying legitimate beneficiaries the opportunity to get on the programme.”

On his part, Managing Director and CEO of the Commission, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, gave a stern warning to beneficiaries to conduct themselves properly or face expulsion. 

He emphasized that quarterly reports will monitor participants’ behavior, and any misconduct will lead to removal from the scheme.

“We want the youths to take advantage of this. For those who are going to successful in the selection, wherever you are being sent to, try and also be a good ambassador of the Niger Delta youths by making yourself of being of good conduct.

“This because your conduct is the only guarantee that can sustain you in this scheme. You are being taken does not mean it is employment.  Because we have a consultant who is the lead consultant and nine other consultants who are also going to take care of every state. 

“These consultants are going to be writing quarterly reports and in this reports if you are indicted not to be of good conduct, you would be taken out of the scheme. So you should understand that the guarantee of you being on the scheme is in your hands, in your conducts or else you have yourself to blame. 

“Coming to today’s event, this is the official launch of the NDDC Internship Scheme where we are going to empower 10,000 youths in the Niger Delta,  engaging them in various internships, ranging from Technology,  automobile, craftsmanship, Community Service, Finance, Sports, Medical,  Maritime Agriculture, and  Arts. 

Ogbuku highlighted the transparency of the online process, which will ensure equal distribution of benefits among states, based on crude oil production quota. 

Each state will have a flat rate of 500 participants before production quota and distribution are considered.

He added: “The selection process will be done based on eventuality of states and quota of production. Because that has been the standard of which NDDC uses in distributing its benefits. 

“That is to say, it does not matter because the MD is from Bayelsa State, that does mean that Bayelsa will have more than Dalta State that has more in terms of crude oil production.  But we will still use equality of states, and we tagged it at 500, that means every state will have 500 flat rate before we will to production quota and distribution.” 

Ogbuku, however, assured participants that the database is robust, with six servers to prevent portal crashes. 

“I want to assure you that the data base, we have tested it, and it is very strong. It has six servers and they are strong that even with the pressure the portal is having right now, in anticipation of the pressure,  the six servers will be a backup and the portal will not crash. Be rest assured that we are fully prepared for this scheme.

“We are going to ensure to engage other agencies of government that are relevant to such programmes to partner with them to ensure that whatever our quota is, we must get.”