Date: 2016-10-20

Kwara State governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has urged people of the State, particularly the youths not to give up hope despite the current economic hardships in the country.

Governor Ahmed, who said this on Wednesday in Washington DC in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Dr. Muyideen Akorede noted that his government is doing everything possible to empower the youths.

The governor stated that he is aware of the pain the youths are going through especially their inability to secure decent jobs, while assuring that his government will continue to implement pragmatic programmes and policies to tackle the challenges facing them.

Governor Ahmed, who asserted that the future of any society depends largely on the wellbeing of its young people assured that the State government is putting in place a package to ensure that youths are economically and productively engaged.

According to him, part of the measures taken by the government is to place greater emphasis on youths and women in its Micro-credit intervention scheme for small business owners. He also encouraged youths with creative business ideas to take advantage of the scheme.

Additionally, Governor Ahmed said that contractors handling various ongoing and new infrastructural development projects in the State have been told to employ people locally.

The governor also expressed optimism that when the report of the workers' biometric verification exercise is submitted, the state government would be able to recruit more youths to fill any identified genuine vacancies.

Governor Ahmed, therefore, urged the youths not to despair, stressing that the pain they are going through is temporary, while promising that his administration will do everything humanly possible to empower them.