By Gbenga Akingbule
North East Youths represented by different youth organisations on Tuesday expressed dismay over the ongoing economic hardship in the region and urged the Minister of Youth Development Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim to inform President Bola Tinubu that residents of the region are languishing in hunger and insecurity.
Gatekeepers News reports that the youth groups urged the Federal Government to employ urgent measures to tackle the ugly situation pointing out that many are already dying as a result of hunger and insecurity.
The Minister of Youth Development Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim swiftly responded and said the Federal government have rolled out different initiatives targeted at empowering the youths including those residing in the rural areas.
The youth organisations which comprise of National Youth Council Of Nigeria (NYCN) National Association of Nigerian Students ( NANS) Members of the National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC) Civil Society Organisations amongst others made this known during the North East Town Hall Dialogue and Consultative Meeting organised by the Ministry of Youth Development held at the Multipurpose Hall of Borno State Government, Maiduguri.
Vice President, National Youth Council of Nigeria ( NYCN) North East Zone Comrade Bishop K Douglas said urgent steps must be taken to address the issue of hunger in the region, saying that “a hungry man and angry man”.
“Hon. MInister Ma, the first thing destroying youths in the North East Region is hunger,” Comrade Douglas said.
Another representative of the youth from Taraba States, Comrade Usman Sani said hunger, banditry, Boko Haram insurgency and kidnapping are plaguing the region and want the Minister of Youth Development to convey their plight to President Bola Tinubu.
“Hon Minister, pls tell Mr President that youths in the North East are angry, we can not continue to see our parents die of hunger” adding that “the Federal government should immediately withdraw its policy on fuel subsidy removal so that that poor can breathe,” Sani said.
However, Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim said President Tinubu is not only committed to the temporary needs of the youths but to a sustainable impact on the future of every Nigerian youth.
The Minister revealed that the Federal government is removing all barriers and changing a new course at building the capacity and empowering Nigerian youths.
“There are Federal initiatives in response to the reforms that the President Bola Tinubu administration is implementing. One of those initiatives is the approval by the Federal Executive Council ( FEC) to immediately release the sum of N110 billion for the restructured and expanded Youth Empowerment Fund to support young people who have enterprises and have been impacted by economic reforms.
“This fund will be disbursed for their businesses to adjust to the economic shocks that we are all going through,” the Minister said.
