•322 get working tools

By Festus Ahon, ASABA

AS part of its effort to alleviate the sufferings of the people, the Delta State Government has given 322 young entrepreneurs’ starter packs and working capital.

The enterprises which the gainers have been trained on include; event management and decoration, hair dressing, barbing, tiling and POP, and interlocking/landscaping.

Speaking during the distribution of the working tools, Prof. Eric Eboh, State Chief Job Creation Officer, SCJCO, said a number of measures had been put in place to enable the artisans succeed.

Saying gone were the days when such opportunities were abused by recipients of government gesture, Eboh said the artisans were established to become employers of labour and change the economic landscape of the state.

According to him, monitoring and mentoring mechanisms have been put in place to ensure sustainability of the programe and its quality compliance by the recipients.

He said: “The mentoring is in collaboration with the Micro Credit and Poverty Alleviation Programme of the state government. We shall then from time to time visit them, know how they cope with the business, advice where necessary in order to avoid the pitfalls of the past.”

Meanwhile, a young entrepreneur who attempted to sell his starter pack has been arrested by the police.

The suspect, who gave his name as   Austin Igbaran,  had approached  a driver attached to one of the Commissioners in Delta to buy the plastic chairs and tables given to him but the driver quickly drew the attention of the police after paying him the N50,000 they   had settled for.

Igbaran, trained in the event management and decoration category said: “I sold the items in order to get money to boost the decoration aspect of the business”.