Elechi Wants Youths To Engage In Agric Entrepreneurship

Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi  State last Wednesday charged youths in the state to engage in agriculture and other enterprises.

Addressing a rally during his thank-you visit to Ezza North local government area, Elechi advised the youths to explore the huge potentials in agriculture to enhance their economic status.

He said the government alone could not absorb the mass of unemployed youths searching for white collar jobs.

The governor called on the youth to exploit the various incentives put in place by the government at both the state and federal levels for the development of the sector.

According to him, youth restiveness, violent crimes and other vices would stop if youths who perpetrated them engaged in farming and other productive ventures.

He said there was greater hope in private enterprise than reliance on government employment under the present dispensation.

“There is greater scope in self enterprise than in government and we are encouraging our youths to take pride and pleasure in agriculture and other self enterprises.

“Self enterprises will give you greater reliance in life and I call on you to embrace agriculture with a view to providing solution to problems of food insufficiency,’’ Elechi said.

He encouraged the youth of the council to engage in profiting agricultural and other self enterprises to enhance the revenue base of the state and contribute to its overall development.

He said the rice processing clusters at Ikwo, Izzi and Ebonyi South local government areas would soon be completed for the benefit of rice farmers in the state.

He advised them to avail themselves of the Federal Government’s N1 billion agricultural loan scheme, the You-WIN programme as well as the state’s revolving agricultural loan to embark on farming.

Elechi thanked the people of the council for their loyalty and support to the administration of the local government under Mr Ike-Uwa Omebe.

The governor commended the people for voting the PDP to power in the 2011 general elections and assured them of the provision or more democracy dividends.

“We thank you for making the wise choice in the April 2011 general elections in voting the PDP to power.

“We appreciate this and promise to provide more dividends of democracy to the people,’’ he said.

Elechi, who recently embarked on a thank-you visit to the 13 local government areas to appreciate the people for voting the PDP to power in the state, commissioned some projects executed by the chairman, describing the projects as people-oriented.