By Juliet Vincent sept 12,2024
Dennis Udoma
Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom has continued to deepen passion for youths of his state, with the creation of Ministry of Youths, excised from former Ministry of Youths and Sports.
He also established the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, while realigning Sport, Science and Digital Economy Ministries.
This, according to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prince Enobong Uwah in a circular signed and issued by hi on Tuesday, is in a bid to reposition the State public service to fulfill the “ARISE” agenda of his administration.
Meanwhile, Governor Umo Eno has signed a new pact for the empowerment of one hundred thousand (100, 000) youths across the 31 Local Government Areas of the State, beginning from October 2024.
The plan, which was presented at a youth appreciation rally held at the Uyo Township Stadium, was governor’s express of gratitude to the youths for not participating in the ill – fated August 1st to 10th #Endbadgovernance protest.
The Governor has however, 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, would be generated for employment purposes both for the State government, investors and other organizations operating in the State.
Umo Eno explained that for the 60,000 youths (5,000 monthly) would be selected from the data base for a one-off business support scheme of ₦50,000 each for 12 calendar months.
In addition to this, Governor Eno further stated that 10, 000 youths would be supported through the ARISE Entrepreneurial Scheme, an empowerment initiative for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s) based on NEEDS assessment.
In the same vein, he announced that 3,000 youths would be employed (100 per LGA, excluding Uyo LGA) through the Ibom Community Watch to provide crowd control and complementary intelligence gathering (Home – Land Security) 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.
“There will be an educational grant for 1,000 public tertiary institutions 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 agri – business”.
Expressing delight over the recent promotion of the State’s female team, Ibom Angels, from Second Division to Division One of the Nigerian Women Football League, Governor Eno announced his administration’s donation of ₦20 million and a coaster bus to the team.
Stakeholders among the youths thanked the Governor and reassured him of their commitment to good followership.
