Gov Eno Unveils Empowerment Schemes For 100,000 Akwa Ibom Youths
Governor Umo Eno has presented a new charter of empowerment for one hundred thousand (100,000) youths across the 31 Local Government Areas of the State beginning from October 2024.
Governor Eno presented the audacious plan at a youth appreciation and engagement rally held at the Uyo Township Stadium to express State Government’s gratitude to the youths for their non-participation in the recent #Endbadgovernance protest.
He directed the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Development and the office of the Senior Special Assistant on ICT to create a database for youth employment where names, based on required qualifications, will be harvested for employment both by the State government, investors and other organisations operating in the State.
The Governor explained that 60,000 youths (5000 monthly) will be selected from the database for a one-off business support scheme of N50, 000 each within 12 calendar months.
In addition, Governor Eno who is a seasoned entrepreneur stated that 10,000 youths will be supported through the ARISE Entrepreneurial Scheme, an empowerment initiative for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) based on needs assessment.
Similarly, he announced that 3000 youths will be employed (100 per LGA, excluding Uyo LGA) through the Ibom Community Watch, to provide crowd control and complimentary intelligence gathering at the grassroots, in addition to the 550 youths already engaged from Uyo LGA.
According to him, other aspects of the scheme include; a paid training at the DAKKADA Skills Acquisition Centre (DASAC) for 1000 participants across 31 LGAs with a monthly transport allowance of N20,000 per person throughout the training duration.
Increased bursary for students in public tertiary institutions from N10,000 to N20,000 for undergraduates, and from N10,000 to N30,000 for professional students (Law, Medicine, Engineering /Agriculture) for 20,00O students in the 2024/2025 academic session.
Furthermore, there will be educational grant for 1000 public tertiary institution students living with disabilities and more.
