Says youth empowerment crucial in nation building
Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday, urged Nigerians to seek God’s face for solutions to the challenges, especially economic recession and insecurity plaguing the country.
Okowa made the call during a Special Thanksgiving Service at Government House Chapel, Asaba, lamenting that insecurity and economic downturn appeared to be overwhelming relevant authorities, adding that Nigerians require God’s intervention.
“There is insecurity in the land and Delta State is not an exception, but God will continue to intervene. Insecurity is now greater than the presidency and the governors. It requires God’s intervention, and therefore, we must continue to pray for God to intervene.
“We are here to give thanks again because not too long ago, I had a thanksgiving. God has been faithful and will remain faithful to me, my family members and Delta State in general.
“I recognise the many challenges of the year. We saw COVID-19 that we had not seen before and it is still on. At a time people thought it was almost over, but the second wave is back globally and Nigeria is not spared. There is reason to give thanks to God over our lives because a lot of people are dying daily,” he stated.
MEANWHILE, Okowa tasked politicians in the country to empower youths through skills acquisition, saying it was the engine for nation building.
He stated this at the handing-out of Starter-Packs to the beneficiaries of the 2019/2020 Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP) and Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP).
The governor said his administration would remain committed to ensuring that more youths and women in the state were empowered in 2021, adding that the state government recognised the importance of empowering youths as leaders of tomorrow and would continue to ensure that no stone was left unturned in that direction.
Speaking, the state’s Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer, Prof. Eric Eboh, said the job creation strategy was another step in Governor Okowa’s drive to productively engage, economically empower and transform Delta youths from job seekers to job creators.
He said the 2019/2020 programme empowered 814 youths comprising 569 under the STEP, 245 under YAGEP and 25 Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).
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