By Emmanuel Thomas l Thursday, Sept 10, 2026
PORT HARCOURT — The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing education across the region through continuous investment in school infrastructure, hosteling facilities, and postgraduate scholarship schemes.
Managing Director of the NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, gave the assurance during the commemoration of World Literacy Day in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Represented by the Director of Education, Dr. Awele Chukwudifu, Ogbuku emphasized that empowering residents with modern literacy skills remains central to building a self-reliant population capable of driving sustainable economic growth in the Niger Delta.
”Education opens doors to unlimited opportunities, particularly through digital literacy,” Ogbuku stated. He confirmed that the Commission will sustain both its local and foreign postgraduate scholarship programs to support advanced academic pursuits for youth in the region.
Speaking on ‘The Role of Literacy in National Development,’ Dr. Adesina Osho, a facilitator from the Department of Business Administration at the University of Lagos, highlighted digital literacy as a key catalyst for enterprise.
Dr. Osho noted that digital skills empower individuals toward digital entrepreneurship, civic participation, and economic self-sufficiency.
He urged tertiary institutions across the Niger Delta to establish centers for continuing education to accommodate adult learners.
He further called on non-governmental organizations, faith-based groups, and private entities to offer scholarships and literacy programs as part of their corporate social responsibility, while charging parents to foster a functional reading culture at home.
Addressing Global Literacy Gaps
Delivering a paper on the event’s theme, ‘Literacy for People, the Planet and Prosperity,’ the Director of the Academic Planning Unit at Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Joseph Kinanee, stressed that literacy must be inclusive regardless of gender.
Professor Kinanee outlined critical dimensions of modern literacy, including functional, financial, environmental, media, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy. Citing UNESCO data, he revealed that 739 million people globally still lack basic literacy skills, while four out of ten children fail to meet minimum reading proficiency standards.
Commending the NDDC’s ongoing interventions in regional education, Kinanee urged stakeholders to take environmental literacy seriously due to its direct impact on public health and regional sustainability.
