By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says it will partner with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to train victims of human trafficking with the aim of rehabilitating and equipping them with skills they would need to become self-reliant.
Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote, made the commitment at a recent meeting he held with the management of NAPTIP at Abuja and added that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act empowered the Board to carry out capacity building schemes in the oil and gas industry and ancillary sectors.
He underscored the Federal Government’s determination to diversify the nation’s economy and address the lack of skills and employment opportunities which make some Nigerians vulnerable to human trafficking.
The Executive Secretary explained that the Board’s training programmes are designed to provide beneficiaries with starter packs and resources that will enable them start their trade at the conclusion of the trainings.
He informed the NAPTIP delegation that the Board recently concluded the pilot phase of its Graduate Agro-Entrepreneurial Training (GAET) where it tutored 120 participants in poultry farming and provided them with starter packs, adding that the Board will be willing to provide similar trainings for the victims of human trafficking.
Wabote also advised that some of victims who are university graduates should register on the Board’s NOGICJQS portal so they can have the opportunity of being selected for trainings and employment in the oil and gas industry. “They can also benefit from our promotion of manufacturing in our oil and gas parks.”
He commended the management NAPTIP for its commitment to the fight against human trafficking, which he described as a social challenge, which sometimes defied answers. “We are going to partner with you because of the job you are doing for humanity.”
Earlier in her speech, the Director General, NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah Donli explained that the courtesy visit was intended to solicit for partners in the fight against human trafficking. She stated that human trafficking was endemic in the Niger Delta because of the coastal nature of the region and preponderance of expatriate oil workers.
She commended the Federal Government for extending the whistle blowing policy to human trafficking, so that Nigerians can be encouraged to report cases when they see them.
The DG also listed various programmes and initiatives conceived by the agency to curb the menace and solicited the support of the NCDMB to fund some of their projects like the training and rehabilitation of victims and erection of billboards to deter perpetrators and vulnerable citizens.
