By Amara Ehia, Abakaliki
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (South East), Barr. Chioma Nweze, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to empowering youths and accelerating development in the South East through strategic investments in skills acquisition, infrastructure and human capital development.
Nweze stated this on Saturday during the graduation and empowerment ceremony of pioneer beneficiaries of the Skill-Up South East Programme held at the Ecumenical Centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
She said the programme, introduced under the Renewed Hope Agenda, trained 95 youths drawn from various local government areas across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states in tailoring, fashion design and other vocational skills.
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According to her, beneficiaries were also equipped with financial literacy knowledge, startup funds and brand-new sewing machines to enable them establish their businesses immediately after graduation.
She described the South East as a region known for enterprise and innovation, stressing that the programme was aimed at raising self-reliant youths capable of contributing meaningfully to the economy of the region.
Nweze noted that Tinubu administration had continued to demonstrate commitment to the South East through major infrastructure and economic projects across the zone.
She listed some of the ongoing projects to include the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt Road, Onitsha-Owerri Road, Ndibe Beach Bridge and the reconstruction of the Umuahia-Aba road corridor.
The presidential aide further disclosed that the federal government had approved the N150 billion South East Investment Company under the South East Development Commission to drive industrialisation in the region.
She added that over N45.6 billion had already been disbursed to South East students under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), while more interventions were ongoing in agriculture, healthcare and skills development.
Nweze said her office had also embarked on several community-based interventions, including free medical outreach programmes that offered cancer screening, eye tests, free glasses and dialysis services in partnership with the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences and the Ebonyi State government.
She commended the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, for supporting healthcare initiatives, ICT centres, solar-powered boreholes and soft loan programmes for small businesses in Ebonyi State.
She urged the beneficiaries to remain disciplined and committed, stressing that the empowerment package represented seed capital under the Renewed Hope Agenda and should be utilised productively to build successful businesses and inspire others.
