GOV SOLUDO, OZIGBO CALL FOR MORE ATTENTION TO YOUTH DEVPT

REPORTERS: BEN ILECHUKWU & UCHE NDEKE

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has charged youths to take their destiny in their hands as the future hope of the world.

Governor Soludo gave the charge during the commemoration of World Youth Day held at Professor Dora Akunyili Women
Development Centre Awka.

According the Governor, his administration has demonstrated interest in the youth through the inclusion of
young persons in his cabinet.

Govenor Soludo, who decried the rate at which moral decadence had eaten deep into the fabrics of the society in various ways such as restiveness, banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery, admonished youths to shun all social vices and embrace legitimate sources of living.

He explained that his administration had begun restoring peace by flushing out criminals from their hideouts and enjoined citizens to continue to report any criminal activity in their areas to appropriate authorities.

The Governor enjoined youths to contribute their quotas towards achieving the liveable and prosperous homeland his government intended to build.

Professor Soludo tasked the youth to secure their future by developing skills that would improve their well-being, assuring them of an enabling environment that will help businesses to thrive.

He announced his administration’s plan to map out about 2.5 billion naira for youth empowerment programme.

The Governor hinted that by September, 2022 about five thousand teachers and medical personnel would be recruited into the teaching and medical sectors of the state.

While noting that building an enviable Anambra State was a collective responsibility, the Governor called on youth corps members serving in the state to contribute towards projecting a new Nigeria to the World.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has been called upon to update the 2019 National Youth Policy to reflect the evolution of society, economy, and technology around the globe.

A youth advocate and entrepreneur, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, made the call in Awka while speaking on the occasion of this year’s International Youth Day celebration.

According to Mr. Ozigbo, the 2019 policy is almost irrelevant given the rapid pace that the world is changing and Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind any longer.

Mr. Ozigbo, who is a former PDP governorship candidate in Anambra State, emphasised the need for government to evolve rapid investment and policies particularly those impacting the youth because of their significance to national development.

He called on all leaders in government and the organised private sector to rise up and stand by the youth as there’s no path to the country’s greatness without the youth being properly consulted and integrated into decision-making.

Mr. Ozigbo, who said he was proud of the position that the youth had taken in recent times, commended them for being awake and putting in intelligent effort to take back Nigeria from the forces that had held it back.

He noted that over the years it was popular to criticise Nigerian youth for not pulling their weight in the affairs of the country but today, they had taken charge and It had become the responsibility of the generations before them to listen to the youth and collaborate with them to save Nigeria.

The entrepreneur, while speaking on this year’s theme for International Youth Day, which is “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages,” called on Nigerians to join hands with the youth and organise their future, dreams, and choices as the country had commenced preparations for the 2023 polls.

EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU