21st February, 2020
The Commissioner for Youth Empowerment and Creative Economy in Anambra, Mr. Afam Mbanefo, has informed that measures were being put in place to purposefully engage the youths in order to effectively check restiveness among them.
Mbanefo said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Friday, pointing out that part of the measures would be to engage the youths in profitable ventures.
He said that the ministry would embark on a tour of the 21 local government areas of the state to identify unemployed youths with creative minds that could be engaged in profitable ventures.
Mbanefo said the ministry had a mandate to develop quality programmes that would engage the youths in ventures that would keep their minds away from social ills.
He said that the ministry would visit local governments within Nnewi and Aguata Educational Zones on February 25, Onitsha and Otuocha on the February 26, while Awka and Ogidi would be February 27.
He said the local government areas were organised in six educational zones of the state for convenience and meaningful engagements, adding that the ministry would achieve result through the use of data generated on youths in the state using the state site www.anambrayouths.ng.
The commissioner said, “We will run community-driven projects that will involve the youths optimally and teach them how to sustain the programme.”
He urged youth officers in the ministry to take the good news from the state government to the grassroots to enable the ministry achieve its set goals.
He appealed to parents to encourage their youths to come out en-masse to benefit from the programme.