Obi: FG’s Trader moni, a Jamboree

Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (left), welcoming the Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Peter Obi to the State Job Creation Exihibition in Asaba. PIX: BRIPIN ENARUSAI

The running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Peter Obi, has scored the Trader-moni scheme embarked upon by the All Progressives Congress led-Federal Government, low, a described it as an effort in futility.

The vice presidential candidate therefore urged the Federal Government to take a clue from the job and wealth creation initiative of Delta state Government, ably sponsored by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

Mr Obi, who expressed delight at the sight of skills already acquired by over 4,250 youths that were trained under the Governor’s Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP, Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP) and Graduate Employment Enhancement Programme (GEEP) said the onus is on the Federal Government to create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths scattered across the country.

Obi, who made a dashing entrant into the Cenotaph venue of the exhibition show of job creation programmes in Asaba, today, 24 January, 2019, charged the beneficiaries to use their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to vote out a non-performing Federal Government during the forthcoming general elections.

He said, “In the world over, unemployment cannot be stopped without supporting entrepreneurs. You cannot compare job creation scheme with trader-moni of the Federal Government. While N10,000 trader-moni is a waste of time, job creation entrepreneurship is a wealth establishment venture. Federal Government needs to come to Delta state and learn from its people-oriented programmes for it to become a national issue.”

Governor Okowa, supported by his Chief Job Creation Officer (CJCO), Prof. Eric Eboh, who said the state is set to become a major grower of rice with the coming on stream of Delta YAGEP rice, boldly said the state is an inch closer towards its goals.

He said, “From 2013 to 205, the annual economic growth rate of the services sector in the state was 8.9% but this has improved to an annual average of 13.2% from 2015 to 2017.

“In agricultural sector, the annual average has scaled up from 8.6% to 13.3% for the same corresponding period. The increment outputs from STEP, YAGEP and other agricultural interventions since 2015 obviously contributed to this improved performance.”

While he charged the newly inducted 2018/2019 Cycle of the programmes to guarantee the funding support through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and SEEFOR, he commended Tony Elumelu Foundation for its N500 million endowment fund to boost the state’s job creation venture.