Ita Solomon Enang, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Nigeria Delta affairs has expressed shock and disappointment over the recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics which ranks Akwa Ibom as the second-highest in terms of unemployment saying he is terribly embarrassed.
Enang, who said the report, was nothing but the truth lamented that Akwa Ibom State is the highest revenue earner from the federation account should have no business occupying such a position according to the ranking by NBS employment index.
Enang who spoke on a radio programme monitored in Uyo blamed Governor Udom Emmanuel for a high level of unemployment poor and parents for not demanding that the government should create jobs for their children said any government that fails to create jobs for its citizens has failed the people
“The NBS data about Akwa Ibom is correct. Akwa Ibom is the highest-earning state in terms of revenue in Nigeria. Yet it is number two in terms of unemployment, this is unfair to the citizens. I want to say that I will not actually blame the UDOM administration; I will blame the parents who sit at home and do not put pressure on the governor to employ their children.
“Parents would have four to five graduates at home, they will retire from work and they come out and join in praising Udom administration, to give them recharge cards to make them bloggers. The parents with children at home are saying that the government is doing well. They cannot tell the government the truth that you are not doing well.
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I want to urge the children of Akwa Ibom State, in addition to going after the government, they should also rise against their parents.
“I want to remind the governor and the parents if you see a government that is working in a manner that does not take care of the citizens of the state, the parents and the state government should prepare, because you may have what you call Arab Spring, the children who are unemployed.
Enang who also alleged that the companies established in the state belong to individuals from the private sector but not the state government as being perceived urged the people to crosscheck the ownership of the companies with the Corporate Affairs Commission to verify their true owners.
According to him, since the companies are not owned by the state government, it cannot influence the employment of anybody adding that even in the civil service, the state government has not offered employment to its citizens despite the high number of retirees.
“When did the government employ people. How many nurses do we have in the state, how long ago did the local government employ. How long ago did the state government employ? Even in terms of the industries which should employ people, I want to inform you that the kind of things we have heard about the industries is a ruse because these industries are privately owned by private individuals. I want the people of Akwa Ibom State to go to the corporate affairs commission or check online to find out the owners of the companies and know that Akwa Ibom government has no stake in these companies.’’
“If you have created quality jobs, how many people have been employed. So many people have retired, the vacancies are there, you destroy the sense of self-worth and the future of young people when you say they should be engaged as Personal Assistants. The children should rise up and challenge their parents and the parents should challenge the government,’’ he said.
