Unemployment, a national emergency, Governor Okowa declares
- Job creation is one of the major focus of the Okowa-led administration in Delta state
- The administration's knack for job creation has been further proven by the inauguration of a new skill acquisition programme
- Governor Ifeanyi Okowa also spoke on why governments at all levels must start tackling unemployment across Nigeria
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Delta state governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has said unemployment was a national emergency and urged the federal government and stakeholders to provide skills and empowerment opportunities for youths as a solution to the menace.
The governor made the call in Asaba on Tuesday, November 10 while inaugurating the Delta State Rural Youth Skill Acquisition (RYSA) Programme for 810 rural youths.
He insisted that unemployment should be declared a national emergency and made a top priority in governance at all levels.
According to him, his administration’s strategic thrust for job creation had been entrepreneurship development programmes anchored on skills training, engaging youths in productive enterprises, nurturing entrepreneurs, leaders and promoting communal peace and security.
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The governor noted that no nation could prosper without building the youths, saying:
“If you don't build them today they cannot lead tomorrow.”
He added:
“Subsequent to the events of the past few weeks, the need for this approach is more compelling now than it was five years ago when we introduced the schemes.
“It is my firm belief that productively engaging our youths and giving them hope for a better future should, as a matter of national emergency, be a top priority in all our public policies.
“This administration has always worked from the premise that the way out of the present unemployment quagmire and attendant poverty is for us to equip the youth with the technical know-how, vocational skills, values and resources to become self-employed or employable.’’
Okowa said that RYSA was targeted specifically at the young men and women in rural areas, appealing to the beneficiaries to reciprocate the government's commitment to their progress and welfare through focus and diligence.
Recall that Governor Okowa recently reaffirmed his administration’s readiness to partner youths in the state.
The governor made this known when the Delta state caucus in the House of Representatives, led by the minority leader, Honourable Ndudi Elumelu, paid him a solidarity visit on Wednesday, October 28.
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Source: Legit.ng