The Ondo State Government has assured youths in the state that it would continue to explore opportunities and partner with the private sector to build the capacity of unemployed youths for more jobs.
The Acting Governor of the state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa gave the assurance at the occasion commemorating the 2023 International Youth Day celebration in Akure.
The theme of the event is: “Green Skills for Youth Toward a Sustainable World.”
Aiyedatiwa, who congratulated the youths for their resilience, said Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu’s administration was committed to ensuring both the human and capital development of Ondo state.
He noted that government would continue to invest in education of the youths and natural talents to enhance the sustainable peace in the 18 council areas of the state.
He said the current government would continue to encourage increased youth participation in governance in line with the ‘Not-too-young-to-Run’ Law.
Aiyedatiwa added that the government realized the need to promote investments in youth to improve their prospects for a better future.
“A successful transition toward a greener world will depend largely on the development of green skills of the youth population.
“Green skills include knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society.
“Without pretense, one of the fundamental global challenges facing the youth is unemployment. This has been largely responsible for their involvement in all shades of social vices.
“There is therefore, an urgent need to change this negative consequences. It is my belief that the solution to these challenges lies in the appropriate value re-orientation and institutional restructuring of our educational system,” he said.
In his welcome address, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Mr Bamidele Ologunloluwa, commended the state government for its support to the youth populace .
Ologunloluwa added that the initiative behind the International Youth Day was targeted at promoting the general wellbeing and livelihood of young people with its priority focus of education employment, poverty and hunger.
The Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) Ondo state chapter urged youths to be patriotic and remember that they are the future of the country.
“We should ensure that whatever we do is for the progress of the state and the country at large,” he said.
