By Ifeoma Aniagbado
It was an atmosphere of joy and testimonies as the Commissioner of Youth Development, Mr. Patrick Agha Mba and his team paid monitoring visits to Entrepreneurship Development Institutes in Onitsha, Oyi and Dunukofia LGAs of Anambra State. Though the visit to these centers where the second phase of 1Youth 2Skills Entrepreneurship Scheme is holding, was basically to ascertain the level of compliance to the programme guidelines by Trainees and the EDIs, it presented a joyous atmosphere as the Trainees could not hide the feelings on the tremendous impact of 1Youth 2Skills programme in their lives.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke during the monitoring visits expressed their heart felt gratitude to the state Governor, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo for Initiating 1Youth 2Skills Programme, which they described as the most Impactful youth development programme. They also commended Unizik Business School for giving them huge knowledge on innovations and ideas on how to manage their businesses professionally through entrepreneurship training. They described the program as a life changing venture.
One of the beneficiaries Chisom Ezeanya thanked Mr. Governor for the wonderful opportunities given to him to be part of the program. He went ahead to promise that he will not only work towards creating a business that will make him an employer of labor, but also offer training assistance to other fellow young people, in order to reduce unemployment in the state.
The Centers visited by the monitoring team led by the Commissioner, Mr. Patrick Agha Mba, include Onitsha Leadership and Entrepreneurship Center (OLEC), Beatrice Onyemelukwe Institute of Management, as well as Idemili North, Oyi and Dunukofia EDI Centers.
Addressing the trainees in their various Centers, Mr. Patrick Agha Mba described 1Youth 2Skills as a unique programme that Mr. Governor initiated to create employment for youths in the state and thank Mr. Governor for his passion for Youth Enterprise Development, especially for the commencement 1 Million Anambra Digital Tribe whereby 1 Million Anambra Youths will be trained in Digital Skills through SID. He also appreciated Mr. Governor immensely for his emphatic assurance on empowering 20,000 Anambra Youths in 3rd Phase of the 1Youth 2Skills Solution, stating that such had never been seen in the history of Nigeria. He then called on every Anambra Youth to rejoice, re-echoing the words of Mr. Governor, that Anambra Youths has not even seen anything yet. He added that the Ministry will keep working tirelessly to ensure that the vision of Prof. Soludo for the youths is actualized.
He also stated that in order to ensure that the goal of 1Youth 2Skills is achieved completely, the Ministry of Youth Development is working collaboratively with some MDAs, like the Ministries of Education, Agriculture, Industry, Culture and Entertainment, Anambra State ICT Agencies and Solution Innovation District (SID). He stated Mr Governor’s investments in youth development programmes have helped to reduce crime rate and engage the youths of the state meaningfully.
He commended UNIZIK Business School and all the EDIs for the efforts being made in transforming the youths in the state.
He finally congratulated the beneficiaries for the successes they had recorded so far in the programme and urged them to remain steadfast and focused in order to achieve their dreams in life.
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