Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has presented a new charter of empowerment for 100,000 youths across the 31 Local Government Areas of the State, beginning in October 2024 as empowerment scheme for young males and females assumes a new high.
Governor Eno presented the audacious plan at a youth appreciation and engagement rally held at the Uyo Township Stadium to express his administration’s gratitude to the youths for their non-participation in the recent #Endbadgovernance protest.
He directed the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Development and the office of the Senior Special Assistant on ICT to create a database for youth employment, through which names, based on required qualifications, will be harvested for employment both by the State government, investors, and other organizations operating in the State.
The Governor explained that 60,000 youths (5,000 monthly) will be selected from the database for a one-off business support scheme of ₦50,000 each within 12 calendar months.
In addition, Governor Eno, who is a seasoned entrepreneur, stated that 10,000 youths will be supported through the ARISE Entrepreneurial Scheme, an empowerment initiative for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) based on needs assessment.
Similarly, he announced that 3,000 youths will be employed (100 per LGA, excluding Uyo LGA) through the Ibom Community Watch to provide crowd control and complementary intelligence gathering at the grassroots, in addition to the 550 youths already engaged from Uyo LGA.
According to him, other aspects of the scheme include paid training at the DAKKADA Skills Acquisition Center (DASAC) for 1,000 participants across 31 LGAs, with a monthly transport allowance of ₦20,000 per person throughout the training duration.
Increased bursary for students in public tertiary institutions from ₦10,000 to ₦20,000 for undergraduates and from ₦10,000 to ₦30,000 for professional students (Law, Medicine, Engineering, Agriculture) for 20,000 students in the 2024/2025 academic session.
Furthermore, there will be an educational grant for 1,000 public tertiary institution students living with disabilities at ₦250,000 for undergraduates and ₦300,000 for professional and postgraduate students.
While 2,000 youths will benefit from the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Programme (EAP) organized by IBOM-LED with a ₦500,000 grant and ₦250,000 start-up capital, and 3,000 youths will receive support in agribusiness.
Expressing delight over the recent promotion of the State’s female team, Ibom Angels, from the second division to division one of the Nigeria Women Football League, Governor Eno announced his administration’s donation of ₦20 million and a coaster bus to the team.
He also reaffirmed his plans to unbundle the State Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, maintaining that his administration will create a separate Ministry for Youth Development in the next dispensation of the State Executive Council, to be headed by a Commissioner not older than 45 years.
He thanked the security agencies for their cooperation and support in ensuring peace in the State at all times, as he condoled the Nigeria Police over the demise of the Commissioner in charge of the Akwa Ibom State Command, CP Waheed Ayilara.
Appreciating the youths, the Governor said, “We are here to say thank you to all the Akwa Ibom youths. In all your different groups, thank you so much for showing good followership.
“Most times, we talk about leadership in our country, but we do not take time to look at followership. I believe that when we have good followers, we will have good leadership.
“Today, we are inspired by your followership, your obedience, and your love from every local government in Akwa Ibom, from every group and every campus. We are inspired by your love and support, which has ensured we have one Akwa Ibom State.
“We are inspired by the fact that you listened to our plea not to join the protest, not because we don’t believe in protest or are unaware of what is going on in the country, but because we know that there are people always on standby to hijack even the most peaceful protest to destroy and vent their anger on government facilities.
“Our leaders have worked so hard in the past 37 years of the creation of our dear state to put this infrastructure in place, but you know that one minute of anger could destroy all the hard work. Just like our past national anthem said, ‘the labours of our heroes past must never be in vain.’ So, we thank you,” he added.
Setting the tone for the event, the Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Monday Uko, recalled the protest, the non-involvement of Akwa Ibom youths, and the Governor’s promise to celebrate them. He described the event as an affirmation of Governor Umo Eno’s integrity as a promise keeper.
Also speaking at the event, a former President of the Student Union at the University of Uyo and former Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Onofiok Luke, emphasized the importance of the rally within the context of incarcerations, lives lost, and property destroyed during the #EndSARS protest.
He noted that Akwa Ibom youths were saved from such troubles by heeding the Governor’s plea not to partake in it, and thus, he described the event as a worthy celebration.
Other stakeholders in youth affairs who also thanked the Governor and reassured him of the youths’ commitment to good followership were: Chairman, House Committee on Youths, Sports and Security, Uwemedimoh Asuquo, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth Mobilization and Iniobong Akpan, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) Grassroots Mobilization.
Others were Aniefiok Iwaudofia, SSA on Female Youths, Esther Nta, SA Youths for Etinan Federal Constituency, Udeme Ubom, PDP Chairmanship candidates in the forthcoming Local Government elections, representatives of Civil Society Organisations, student leaders, representatives of Ibom-LED beneficiaries, and the non-indigenous community, Ibom Community Watch, among others.
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