The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, has disclosed plans to flag off a special support programme for 5,000 youths in the state.
He said that a youth engagement and empowerment rally would hold on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at the Uyo Township Stadium, to appreciate the youth structure and the youths of the state.
He made the announcement while speaking at the September edition of the State Government’s Monthly Covenant Prayer Service at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Uyo.
The governor said the rally, with its accompanying engagement and empowerment packages, will be in fulfillment of his promise to reciprocate the honor done to him and the leadership of the state by the youths.
According to him, the youths obeyed his admonition to distance themselves from the recent nationwide protest due to the risk of it being hijacked by some bad elements.
The Akwa Ibom helmsman said the modalities for the implementation of the program will be outlined during the rally, and the names of beneficiaries from each LGA will be published for verification.
He explained that the youths participating in the rally will be selected from the 31 LGAs as representatives, adding that SMEs selected for the program have also been confirmed to be genuine and verifiable.
His words: “We are going to have a rally to engage and empower our youths. That rally will be on Tuesday, September 10, at the Uyo Township Stadium. We are bringing 200 youths from each of our 31 local government areas. They are just representatives of their local government areas. On that day, we will also explain how we intend to support 5,000 youths in our state immediately.
“We will also empower Small and Medium Enterprises from across the State. This empowerment will be a bit different from what we normally do. We have already finished our selection and have 2,000 of them, so don’t bother faking anything. We know these people, we have been to their shops, we have done a needs assessment, and we know what they want. We will publish their names and local government areas so that anyone can verify.
"We believe if we support these SMEs, they will help facilitate socio-economic growth in our State. That is my idea of empowerment."
The Akwa Ibom Chief Executive also announced the readiness of the state government to commence the distribution of food items directly to the less privileged, devoid of agents as middlemen.
He decried the inability of some agents to stick to the terms of engagement in the bulk purchase program, adding that this new phase of distribution will be done directly through the Bulk Purchase Agency.
On the forthcoming local government elections, the governor announced that the party will flag off campaigns on Thursday, September 12, urging all party flag bearers and stakeholders to intensify efforts to gain the confidence of the electorate to enable PDP to win in all 31 LGAs.
He, however, reaffirmed his resolve to ensure fair and credible polls for all, saying, “We are conducting elections in the 31 LGAs, and we will win in all if we do our work properly.”
