The Rivers State Government has launched a 30-day residential behavioural modification programme for youths, aimed at instilling discipline, positive values, and skills for sustainable empowerment.
The programme, tagged Vanguard Initiative on Behavioural Modification, was unveiled on Wednesday in Port Harcourt by the State Administrator, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Lucky Worika.
Ibas said the initiative reflects the government’s commitment to placing people at the centre of development, stressing that infrastructure without trained and disciplined youths cannot drive true progress.
“Real development is not measured in asphalt and concrete but in the capacity of our youths to innovate, lead, and create jobs,” he said. “Development is incomplete until young people rise with it.”
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Development, Mrs. Ruhuoma Kejeh, described the training as the foundation of sustainable empowerment, noting that re-orienting the mindset is critical before skills acquisition.
“The hard truth is that skills alone are not enough. Without positive behaviour, skills cannot translate into livelihoods,” she said.
Kejeh added that the Ministry has introduced a new Train to Engage model to ensure participants receive not only skills training but also guidance to put those skills into practice. She listed areas of training to include CNG conversion, ICT, digital fashion design, vocational crafts, and agribusiness, in collaboration with private sector partners.
She commended the Administrator for prioritising youth-focused policies, describing the programme as a “generational investment in the future of Rivers State.”
