Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
President, Wealth Nation Agenda, Godwin Ovu, yesterday, said he has put machinery in place to train 500 youths in each of the 18 local government areas of Edo State to complement the efforts of the government in reducing crime and criminality in the state.
He said this at the official flag off of the Wealth Nation Agenda workshop/seminar in Benin City with the theme”Taking the youth off the street”.
Mr. Ovu said the training will enable the youth to be self-sufficient and that when that is done, it will reduce the level of crime and criminality in the state.
“From the things we have seen in our society, the youths are protesting because they need their rights and have not been carried along for too long.
“So, what we have decided to do as an organisation is to bridge the gap between the youths and the government; and also every well-meaning citizens of Nigeria.
“We want to train and empower the youths for a life skill such as fashion designing, welding and fabrication, volcanising, computer among others”, he said.
Ovu said the youth will not only be trained and left empty handed but will be given a starter-part found to help kick-start their trades.
“After their training, we are going to empower them with take off grant to start up with something. The grant range from 30,000 to 50,000. The kind of skills learnt will determine the amount we will be given”, he said.
While calling for all hands to be on deck to reduce the high level of unemployment in the state and the country at large, Uvu, said it requires about a N100,000 to empower each of the trainees.
“This is the flag off, and It is going last for three months. From here we will identify various skills.
“In every entity, there are challenges. Thank God a lot of people are keying into the program. And because of this uprising, it has opened the eyes of many. We need collaboration.
“One of our challenges is funding. To train and to equip every participant, we need nothing less than N100,000.
“So, any government or well-meaning Nigerians are interested to see peace and security should partner with us”, he said.