Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo state has charged young people in the state to eschew violence and shun social vices that could mar their future.
The governor gave the counsel in Akure on Wednesday, while speaking at a youth multi-stakeholders summit, organized by the Coalition of Nigerian Youths on Security and Safety Affairs (CONYSSA).
Represented by his deputy, Olayide Adelami, the governor thanked the CONYSSA team for bringing issues like this to the front burner of national discourse, urging them to tow the line of hardwork, excellence and integrity to get to the top.
He said, “Make no mistake, the road to the top is not always smooth. You must put in the work, you must burn the night candles. Above all, you must keep your head up and say no to social vices”
He invited young people in the state to take advantage of his administration’s programmes, aimed at productively engaging them.
“We are deeply committed to empowering the youths of Ondo state, believing that if our young people are given the right opportunities, they will choose innovation over crime. This is why we gave approval for the formulation of the state’s youth policy within the framework of ‘OUR EASE’ developmental agenda.
“As you are aware, we just recently recruited over 2,000 teachers into our secondary and primary schools in the state. Through the IFAD LIFE-ND project, we have trained and empowered over 5,000 youths in different areas of agriculture. Also, a programme to train 500 youths in ICT in partnership with GIZ will commence soon.
“Our government believes in catching them young and that is why we started a holiday bootcamp to expose our children to technology and innovative ideas thereby keeping them busy. We are also working tirelessly to create an enabling environment for small scale businesses to thrive” the governor disclosed.
Thanking the state government for taking steps in combating insecurity and social vices, the Director General of CONYSSA, Ademario Emmanuel, pleaded with the government to include more young people in the security architecture for intelligence gathering to compliment its efforts to nip insecurity in the bud.
In the same vein, Chairman of the occasion, Babatunde Kolawole, commended the state government for rising to the challenge of insecurity and asked the people to give their support through intelligence gathering and cooperation with security agencies.
Remarking, the state Commissioner of Police, who was represented by DCP Olusehyi Okenla, tasked young to be change-makers rather than engaging in social vices, assuring them of the cooperation of the Nigeria Police Force.
High point of the event was an interactive session, where the deputy governor and other resource persons provided answers to some issues bordering on security and social vices
