By OUR REPORTER
In response to the challenges of insecurity and youth restiveness in the zone, the Governors of the Southeast States have each initiated empowerment campaigns targeted at their youth populations and designed to address these challenges through extensive training and support programs, Daily Query can report.
IN ABIA STATE, Governor Alex Otti has focused on equipping youth with practical skills in farming, digital economy and small-scale business operations.
Recent efforts include training 300 youths in modern farming techniques and disbursing N1 billion to support 10,000 individuals in nano, micro, and small businesses.
Otti has also promoted STEM education and digital skills development to enhance job opportunities for young people in the state.
Experts have praised these initiatives as essential steps toward addressing the region’s insecurity issues, which have often been linked to youth idleness.
However, they also stress the importance of monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of these programmes to ensure that the intended benefits are realized.
Chris Asor, a member of the civil society in Anambra, highlighted the need for robust monitoring mechanisms to prevent misuse of funds and ensure that the skills acquired translate into tangible improvements in the beneficiaries’ lives.
ALSO IN ANAMBRA STATE, Governor Chukwuma Soludo recently launched the second phase of the “1Youth2Skills” program, an initiative that has already trained 5,000 youths in its first phase and designed to equip young people with practical skills and reduce unemployment.
The second phase has seen approximately 8,620 participants qualify from over 183,000 applications.
The programme spans eight months, including vocational training and entrepreneurship development.
Participants in the programme, which focuses principally on furniture making, metal fabrication, aluminum fabrication, CCTV installation, confectionery, and leather works, will receive monthly stipends during the training period and startup capital upon completion.
FOR HIS PART, ENUGU STATE Governor, Barr. Peter Mbah, has partnered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria to boost the region’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with a N1 billion matching fund.
This initiative aims to support 5,000 SMEs through Conditional Cash Grants.
Additionally, Mbah recently launched a distribution of over N4.6 billion in grants and inputs to farmers, communities and IT startups, emphasizing his commitment to nurturing a thriving SME ecosystem.
SIMILARLY, IN IMO STATE, the Hope Uzodinma Administration has introduced the “One Kindred One Business Initiative” (OKOBI), by which it encourages each kindred (extended family group) to establish businesses.
So far, over 150 OKOBI cooperatives have been registered under this initiative, which involves the government partnering with kindreds to develop economically viable enterprises that will create jobs and enhance rural well-being.
Each kindred will propose business ideas, with the government providing counterpart funding to support these ventures.
