Okorocha Launches Youth Empowerment Programme

In a bid to tackle the high rate of unemployment in Imo State, Governor Rochas Okorocha has launched the Youth Must Work programme aimed at engaging and empowering all unemployed youths in the state.
The programme which was launched at the Heroes Square in Owerri, the Imo State capital, South East Nigeria brought together over 10,000 unemployed graduates from all the 27 local government areas in the state.
The programme is aimed at bringing all unemployed youths in the state together, identifying their different areas of specialisation and empowering them with the necessary tools which will get them fully engaged before they are gainfully employed in their desired jobs.
While decrying the high rate of unemployment in the country, the governor said corruption, selfishness and primitive accumulation of wealth by political leaders had been the major cause of unemployment in the country.
He added that as part of the action plan mapped out for the Youth Must Work programme, the state government had set aside an interest-free loan of N5 billion for thrift arrangement which will aid the youths to set up integrated farming in their communities.
Mr. Okorocha said that government would also sponsor 100 youths to South Africa to train as pilots and 500 of them to Singapore for entrepreneurial training.
Governor Okorocha stated that one of the cardinal objectives of the Youth Must Work programme is to develop the economy of the state through agriculture for which the state government had provided one hectare of land in each of the 560 communities in the state.