USAID Rates Amaechi’s Overseas Scholarship Scheme High

Cross-section of executive members, Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers taking oath of office during their inauguration in Abuja recently. Photo: NAN

The United States Agency for International Development (USAD) has said the Rivers State Governor’s special overseas scholarship being run by the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) is a model for all educationally disadvantaged states in Nigeria.
The Mission Director of the agency, Mr Michael T. Harvey, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen shortly after a meeting with the Executive Director of RSSDA, Mr Noble Pepple in Port Harcourt, said that the scholarship scheme will help Rivers State to overcome the challenges of inadequate manpower development.
Harvey said that the agency was pleased with the giant strides being recorded by the RSSDA in the areas of agriculture and technical vocation, stressing that rural people of Rivers State are being given the opportunity to benefit maximally from the policies and programmes of the present administration.
According to him, USAD is happy that its partnership with the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) is in the right direction, and urged others to emulate it.
Harvey said that they were in the country to visit all their partners with a view to assessing what they have done with aids given them.
Earlier, Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of RSSDA, Mr Noble Pepple had said that the agency, established in 2007, has the mandate of lifting Rivers people out of poverty, through the creation of a strong agricultural base, building of a strong capital base as well as the provision of skills to young persons.
Pepple said that RSSDA has sponsored medical missions to several rural communities as well as embarked on series of programmes to improve the conditions of the less-privileged in the state.
According to him, the agency wants to leave legacies that will be emulated by others in the society as well as show that a government agency can work efficiently to deliver quality services to the people.