Amaechi Tasks Youths On Job Creation

Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has charged youths in the country to focus on ways of creating wealth and being employers of labour instead of job seekers.

Governor  Amaechi, gave this charge Friday during a state reception for the pioneer batch of Graduands under the Special Oversea Scholarship Programme of his administration to various universities abroad in Government House, Port Harcourt.

Represented by his Deputy, Engr. Tele Ikuru, Amaechi noted that “education is the greatest gift any parent can give to his or her child as education is the key to a good life and a bright future.

He urged them to leverage on the knowledge and skills gained from their training abroad to better their lives, stressing that “civil service jobs are no more lucrative,” while counselling them to discover their unique selling points to enable them carve niches for themselves.

Describing education as the fulcrum of his administration’s policies and programmes, the governor observed that “through education we are creating a new economy in the State, a knowledge-driven economy.” He commended the graduands for “making the State proud” and the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) for properly managing the scheme.

Earlier, the Executive Director of RSSDA, Mr. Noble Pepple, stated that 93 out of the 97 awardees of the scholarship graduated and achieved individual and collective accolades for the State in their respective schools, adding that Mr Dalton Whyte emerged the best graduating student. He said that the scheme cost the State Government N5.5 billion in 2011 while N6.9 billion would be spent in 2012 on another 300 awardees.

He thanked the Governor for his unalloyed support, announcing that the graduands studied information and Communication Technology (ICT) and majored in Networking and other related disciplines and have also acquired professional certification.

In his Welcome Address, RSSDA’s General Manager, Human Capital Development, Mr Godwin Poi, said the event was to welcome the graduands. He noted that they have made the state proud, saying that the scholarship scheme showcases the commendable vision of the Governor Amaechi administration in the area of human capital development.

Representatives of both the parents and the graduands, Miss Anita West and Mr, Monibo Ben-Whyte thanked the Governor and the RSSDA for the scheme, describing it as laudable. He then appealed to the government to positively engage the skills and knowledge of the graduands by providing them with jobs.