By Ogenyi Ogenyi, Uyo
Governor Umo Eno has unveiled an empowerment plan for 100,000 youths across the 31 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Akwa Ibom, set to commence next month.
Eno, who presented the ambitious plan at a youth engagement rally in Uyo yesterday, also announced plans for the creation of a separate Ministry of Youth Development.
The Governor subsequently directed the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Development and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant on ICT to establish a database for youth employment by the state government, investors, and other organizations operating in the state.
He explained that 60,000 youths would be selected from the database for a one-time business support scheme of ₦50,000 each within 12 calendar months.
Additionally, Eno stated that 10,000 youths would 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 would be employed 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.
Other aspects of the scheme, according to the Governor, include paid training at the DAKKADA Skills Acquisition Center (DASAC) for 1,000 participants across the 31 LGAs, with a monthly transport allowance of ₦20,000 per person throughout the training duration.
Further initiatives include an 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), benefiting 20,000 students in the 2024/2025 academic session.
An educational grant will also be provided for 1,000 public tertiary institution students living with disabilities, amounting to ₦250,000 for undergraduates and ₦300,000 for professional and postgraduate students.
Additionally, 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 would 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 with the Nigeria Police over the demise of the Commissioner in charge of the Akwa Ibom State Command, CP Waheed Ayilara.
“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.
“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.
State Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Mr. Monday Uko, had earlier recalled the non-involvement of Akwa Ibom youths and the Governor’s promise to celebrate them, describing the event as an affirmation of his 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, Barr. Onofiok Luke, emphasized the importance of the rally within the context of incarcerations, lives lost, and properties destroyed during the #EndSARS protest.
