Igbo youths under the umbrella of Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) yesterday lamented that President Goodluck Jonathan has not fulfilled the campaign promises he made to them, despite the fact that they massively voted for him the 2011 elections.
OYC newly-elected leader, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro said Igbo youths worked hard to ensure that President Jonathan won the elections but three years down the line, they were yet to feel the impact of his administration.
Isiguzoro, noted with regrets the high rate of unemployment among Igbo youths and made a passionate appeal to the president to include them in his transformation agenda.
“We mobilised, canvassed and worked to ensure that Jonathan won, but since then, the Igbo youth have not seen any impact of his administration. We call on him to ensure that Igbo youths are accommodated in his transformation agenda. That is the only way we can assure him of our support in future”, the OYC leader said.
Isiguzoro urged the Federal Government to set up a Southeast Development Commission just like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to cater for the unemployed Igbo youth or include them in the N59.9 billion amnesty programme.
According to him, the inclusion of Igbo youths in the amnesty programme, which has significantly reduced the incidences of youth unrest in the Niger Delta region, would also reduce kidnapping in the Southeast and make the zone to reclaim its position as the foremost commercial hub in the country.
Isiguzoro assured that OYC under his stewardship would cooperate with non-governmental organisations and relevant agencies to set up vocational centres in the South-East for skill acquisition as part of efforts to reduce unemployment to the barest minimum in the country.
“I call on Southeast governors to see what they can do for the youth. They have budgets allocated to Youth ministries and we are going to ensure that we visit the states, commissioners for Youth Development or ministries of Youth Development, to ensure that the money budgeted are utilised for youth empowerment”, he said.
He also assured that OYC would partner the private sector to ensure they live up to their Corporate Social Responsibility, regretting that many people come to Igboland and make money, yet they do not have anything to offer youths.