The Ihietutu community in Ishiagu, Ivo local government area of Ebonyi says it had spent a total of N13.4million on youth empowerment since the inception of the scheme in 2013.
Mr Paulinus Okoro, chairman, Ihietutu Development Union (IDU), disclosed this while distributing eleven brand new Qlink motorcycles to another set of beneficiaries of the 2017 community empowerment programme on Sunday in Ihietutu.
According to the chairman, the motorcycles are given to enable the beneficiaries to operate as commercial motorcyclists in the area.
He said that the exercise, which has become an annual event, is in its 4th tranche, adding that 67 youths had so far benefited from the programme.
“The programme is driven by the need to encourage our youths to be self-employed and to also assist those who had experienced business failures to be able to bounce back to their feet.
“The initiative started four years ago and was introduced by the current community executive.
“A total of 67 youths drawn from across the eight villages in the community have been empowered under this initiative, while N13.4million has been injected into the programme.
“Today, we are distributing a total of eleven brand new Qlink motorcycles to another set of beneficiaries under the 4th tranche of the exercise.
“In 2013, we gave out 21 brand new Qlink motorcycles to 21 unemployed youths; in 2014, another 25 youths were empowered with brand new Qlink motorcycles and in 2016, we empowered yet another 10 unemployed youths.
“Eleven youths are set to benefit again from this community-sponsored empowerment programme in 2017,’’ Okoro said.
He said that funds for the programme were remittances which mining companies operating in the community paid as part of their corporate social responsibility, which has been captured in the community’s development agreement with the companies.
Okoro said that the empowerment programmes had reduced youth restiveness, criminal activities and other anti-social behavior which were prevalent in the community before his tenure.
He said that the empowerment initiative of the community would further complement the efforts of the Ebonyi government in tackling youth unemployment, poverty alleviation and enhance their economic viability.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event attracted thousands of indigenes, while the occasion was also used for the foundation-laying of the community’s multi-million Naira civic centre. (NAN)
