The Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area, Abinye Pepple, and his Vice, Ibinyefagha Alabere, on Monday, September 1, 2026 joined the Chairman of the Bonny Integrated Recruitment Centre (BIRC), Adawari Jumbo, to unveil the Bonny Employment Blueprint.
Pepple also announced the establishment of a Skills Acquisition Centre, describing it as a major intervention by his administration aimed at providing training in demand-driven skills sets for youths based on identified manpower needs within the industrial sector.
“Why did we decide to build that centre? So that the BIRC can let government know the need assessment of the IOCs. We want to build local manpower. If we build local manpower, we are getting it right,” he added.
Congratulating the BIRC for the milestone achieved in the quest to address unemployment in Bonny LGA, Pepple reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to creating sustainable employment opportunities and developing a skilled local workforce for Bonny Kingdom.
He emphasised the importance of collective support for BIRC, describing the Centre as a critical platform for addressing employment challenges and connecting local manpower with available opportunities.
“Apart from the fact that we need to support the BIRC to close the manpower gap, we have decided as a responsible government to build the Bonny Local Government Skills Acquisition Centre,” he stated.
He further explained that the Centre would be guided by actual industry needs, stressing the importance of collaboration between BIRC, the Local Government and IOCs in identifying the specific skills required by employers.
The Chairman noted that the initiative is part of his administration’s broader commitment to empowering Bonny youths with relevant skills that can translate into meaningful employment, entrepreneurship and long-term economic opportunities.
The unveiling took place during a Townhall Meeting on Employment Matters convened by the BIRC, which brought together key stakeholders, community leaders, youth representatives, industry players and other relevant actors to deliberate on employment challenges and opportunities within Bonny LGA.
In his presentation, the Chairman of the BIRC, Adawari Jumbo outlined the major pillars of the Bonny Employment Blueprint, including transparent recruitment processes, database harmonisation, continuous skills mapping, manpower development, and stronger collaboration among government, communities and IOCs.
He explained that the Bonny Employment Blueprint is a strategic framework aimed at streamlining employment processes, bridging the existing manpower gap, harmonising recruitment data, and ensuring that Bonny indigenes are adequately equipped and competitively positioned to access employment opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
Delivering the Keynote Address at the event, a skills development expert, Dr Bara Kabaka Brown analyzed the gaps in the world of work, especially, in Bonny LGA, drawing inferences from available data, surmising that the LGA is short in on-demand skills required in the contemporary work space.
He called on the Bonny LGA Chairman and other well-meaning individuals in the area to mainstream the sponsorship of human capital development, while also calling the Bonny Local Government and other stakeholders to intentionally work towards abrogating the lack of skills situation bedeviling the area by investing in skills development.
A former Chairman of Bonny LGA, Edward Pepple asserted that contrary to insinuations being peddled about, the BIRC is a legal entity established to warehouse and manage employment opportunities accruing to Bonny Kingdom, saying it derives its legitimacy from extant laws in the country.
He commended the incumbent Chairman for sustaining the emplaced structures for employment, pointing out that more needs to be done to reduce unemployment in Bonny LGA, noting, however, that collective efforts were needed to realize such aspiration.
Various stakeholders who spoke at the meeting commended the Chairman for his people-oriented approach and his willingness to invest in human capital development, while expressing their readiness to support the implementation of the employment blueprint for the benefit of Bonny youths and the wider community.
The Town Hall Meeting concluded with a renewed commitment by stakeholders to deepen collaboration, strengthen the local employment ecosystem and accelerate the implementation of the Bonny Employment Blueprint.
