Youth empowerment programme (YEP) in delta state is a scam trainees cry out

Ninty youths under the Delta State Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP) program, currently in the islands of Trinidad and Barbados in the West Indies are crying out for help from their governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan.

The Youth Empowerment programme was meant to train students on agriculture, tourism, hospitality, and culinary arts, but now students claim the entire program is a “scam.”

YEP Delta state trainees fethcing water from pool

They have accused Delta state deputy governor, Prof. Amos Utuama, and a lady alleged to be his mistress, a Barbadian identified as Ms. Donna St. Hill, of pocketing program funding.

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“Information made available to us reveals that the budget for the program was slashed with the extra funds pocketed by Delta State deputy governor, Prof. Amos Utuama, Ms. Donna St. Hill, and some individuals. This has affected our accommodation and feeding,” a student said.

Most of the youths also voiced their criticism of Ms. Donna St. Hill, for collaborating with Delta State officials to perpetuate the scheme.

Yep Delta state trainee after eating poisoned food

She is also accused of arranging the students accommodation in Barbados in hurricane-prone locations.

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One trainee told SaharaReporters, “Ms. Donna booked our accommodation at a sub-standard hotel known as Casa Grande Hotel located in a hurricane-prone location, against the earlier-procured place at Infinity Hotel we were supposed to stay.”

“When we asked her why the change, she told us that the earlier-booked hotel is now fully booked, this was followed by her threatening to [send] us back to Nigeria if we [rejected the accommodations]. We have sent Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan mail and up ‘til now he hasn’t replied us,” the student cried.

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“Ms. Donna has sent a series of messages lying against us to Governor Uduaghan, whereas we are only agitating for our entitlements as we were informed of by some of the staff of the Ministry of Higher Education in Asaba, the ministry overseeing this program,” students alleged.

“As I’m talking to you now we cannot take our baths because there is no water, some of us had to start fetching water from the pool. Do you know that we almost lost one of us yesterday due to food poisoning as we were told by the doctors? The issue of food is nothing to write home about. I repeat, we have sent a series of messages to the State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, to come to our aid, but ‘til date we are yet to get a reply from him,” a student told SaharaReporters.

“We do not have access to water even to take our baths, we have resorted to fetching water from a pool,” a student said.

The Commissioner for Higher Education in Delta State, Prof. Hope Eghagha has denied the allegation that the trainee programme is a scam but confirmed that the students were having accommodation issues