RSG, UK Firm Partner On Youth Centre

The Rivers State Ministry of Youth Development says it is partnering with a United Kingdom-based Corporation, for the construction of an integrated youth Centre in the state.
The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs Clara Tam Nmebe, who disclosed this in an address at this year’s International Youth Day celebration in Port Harcourt, said that the execution of the project will take the financial burden off the state government.
Nmebe also said that the celebration should challenge the State and nation to promote ways of engaging the youth to become more actively involved in making positive contributions to their communities and society at large.
The Permanent Secretary also said that it was the responsibility of all to sensitise and guide the youth to recognize, identify and accomplish their societal goals in life, adding that the Ministry was the platform and well positioned to create and increase awareness among the youth on the need for active engagement in societal development.
“The Ministry re-orientates and increases the knowledge base of our youth through her youth education and counseling Department, while the Youth Enterprise and Promotion Department train youth on specific areas of need and comparative advantage for the purpose of self-reliance and through empowerment,” she said.
The Permanent Secretary also called on the youth to rise up and fight all kinds of dishonourable, irresponsible, lawless behaviours and barbaric activities such as cultism, armed robbery, pipeline vandalisation, illegal oil bunkering, kidnapping, human trafficking, prostitution and other anti-social behaviours.
In his address, the State Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Rivers State, Ambassador Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo, decried the marginalization of the state by multinational companies on the issue of employment.
Sukubo alleged that the managerial cadre of most multinational companies in the state are made up of non-indigenes, and appealed to the State government to establish youth centres in the three Senatorial Zones, while a Youth Desk be established in the relevant ministries and parastatals in the state.
Highlights of the event were a march past by some youth organizations and presentation of awards to deserving Nigerians and Multinational companies.