July 31, (THEWILL) – The Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, has urged the youths of the State to refrain from the planned protest against hunger and bad governance, scheduled to take place across the country.
Nwifuru, who stated this on Tuesday, during the first youth summit organised by his administration, appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, who obviously is making efforts to fix the country and make lives better for the citizens.
According to him, he has rolled out numerous empowerment programmes for the youths, adding that he is committed to the People’s Chatter of Needs policy of his administration.
“I must seize this medium to reiterate that this administration is committed to the People’s Charter of Needs. This we have done by taking many of our youths out of the streets through our skills development and empowerment programmes. I am glad to inform you that most of the Youth Empowerment beneficiaries who got Two Million Naira each are doing very well in their respective businesses. Another batch of our youths will soon get their money.
“Through gatherings like this, the youths are exposed to leadership training, character development, value re-orientation, conflict transformation and peace building among others.
“Let me remind you that we are set— to by the end of year 2025, 20,000 train and unemployed youths in mechanized Agriculture, small and medium scale enterprises and other varying productive ventures. Expectedly, the State Government will provide them with Microcredit facilities; thereby making them self-reliant and viable entrepreneurs with sustainable livelihood. It is important for our youths to leverage this opportunity and engage in Agriculture which has remained a viable option to White collar job.
“Our scholarship scheme is on course. The first batch of 300 students for the foreign scholarship will soon depart the country to various countries where admissions have been secured for them to pursue their Masters and Doctorate Degrees, while 700 others will resume from different Universities across the county. Our target is to ensure that at least 8000 of our youths benefit from the scheme before I leave office in 2031 by the grace of God.
“As part of engaging our youths, we recently employed 1700 of them into our civil service. Arrangements are on top gear to revive existing industries and establish new ones to create more jobs for our youths.
“I am aware of the planned protest against hunger and bad governance scheduled to take place across the country including Ebonyi State. While I understand the reasons and concerns that have led to this call to action, I strongly urge you all to refrain from participating in this protest.
“As your governor, my administration is committed to addressing the challenges we face, and we are working tirelessly to improve the lives of our citizens. However, protests can often lead to unintended consequences, including violence, destruction of property, and disruption of essential services.
“Instead, I invite you to engage with us through constructive dialogue and peaceful channels such as today’s event. We have established these mechanisms for feedback and complaints, and we are always willing to listen to your concerns.
“Our state is blessed with talented and innovative young people like you. We will provide the support and resources necessary to help you succeed. Once again, be assured that this government shall continue to rekindle the hope of its youths for a secured future with a life of comfort and fulfillment.
“Let us work together to build a better future for our state and avoid any actions that could put yourselves or others at risk”, he stated.
Sunday Ogbu is a professional journalist with eight - twelve years experience that had worked with various print and online media. Sunday specializes in news reporting with the aim of educating his readers on current social, political and economic occurences within his area of coverage. Sunday is a strong force to work with in the media industry and uses his positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Sunday is inspired daily by his wife and their four children. In his free time, Sunday likes sight-seeing, reading and discussing issues of societal interest.
