From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
The Abia State government has vowed to continue sustaining youth development through skills acquisition and other programmes that would make them self-reliant.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Friday Ikpeoha stated this in Umuahia, the state capital while handing over a car donated by Gees Concept Modelling Company to the winner of Miss Abia beauty pageant, Chikaodi Agidi, a 22-year-old student of Abia State University, Uturu.
Impeoha explained that the activities of the Ministry centre on developing and empowering youths in various areas of skills acquisition and education. He disclosed that over 40 youths of the state are currently undergoing training at Innoson Motors, stressing that many youths have become self-dependent through the activities of the Ministry.
The Permanent Secretary thanked the pageant organizers, Gees Concept Modelling Company, for doing the state proud in collaboration with Abia State. “I commend the company for doing the Ministry and Abia State government proud. We will continue to partner the company in doing more programmes that will benefit the youth and state,” he stressed.
Speaking, Gees Concept’s CEO, Mr. Felix Onuiri, explained that it was a big task for his company to hold the show because of fraudulent activities of fake modeling companies. While urging the Abia State government to set up a taskforce to monitor modeling companies, Onuiri said, “The girls have been deceived and defrauded many times; any of them you call to come and contest will ask you, ‘is it the one I will contest and I won’t get anything?’ So, it was a big task to convince these girls to believe in my company. Abia State government should set up a taskforce; anybody that wants to host a pageant must bring what he wants to give before the show is done.”
On her part, Chikaodi Agidi pledged to use her position to teach secondary school students how to resist harassment and other forms of abuse.