By George Best Okoroh
The Youths Empowerment Strategy and Solution Project (YESS) of the Nekede Empowerment Development Association(NEDA),has ended with a call on Autonomous Communities in Imo State to set up youth empowerment bodies in their communities.
The President-General of Old Nekede Autonomous Community and Chairman of the Seminar, Chief Kennedy Zanders made the call at the Nekede Empowerment Development Association (NEDA) 2021 Youths Seminar held at the Zander Foundation Hall Nekede,Owerri West LGA,Imo State.
The President General noted that organizations like NEDA and similar bodies, when established at various community levels ,can approach funding institutions to assess youths empowerment funds powered by governments at various levels. He stressed that it would be easier for these communities to properly disburse the funds since they know the people who really need the funds,besides he said it would also be convenient for the funding Institution to monitor because they were dealing with communities.
He encouraged funding institutions to bring down all the funding via the communities for a better result.
Chief Zanders a media mogul and Chief Executive officer of Zandars TV and FM Radio pointed out that the crises in the Independent Newspaper Publishers Association,Imo State (INPA) and the Nigerian Union of Jounalist (NUJ) in Imo State would soon be a thing of the past as he was already looking into the issues with a view to resolving them.
Speaking, also, the President of NEDA Engr. Osundu Opara revealed that the various empowerment programmes of NEDA which would benefit the youths of the three autonomous Communities in Nekede, will soon to be unvailed. Engr. Osundu Opara explained that at the moment the Association has planned to engage the youths in all kinds of youth programmes,which he said represented the NEDA vision and mission statement.
He further emphasised as its cardinal objective to empower these youths and ride on youth developmental Programmes in order to improve the youths of the concerned communities. He added that the packages are targeted at Youths in the age brackets of 16-45 years and would cover areas such as offerings scholarships to indigent youths aspiring to further their education, fueling entrepreneurship as well as support youth in wealth creation. Sir Opara also the Chairman of 5Cees Global Services Nigeria Limited Owerri,Imo State operators of 5Cees TV online,in Imo State, encouraged youths of area to cue into NEDA in order to benefit from its numerous programme.Recall that the Federal Government set up a 75b naira Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) in 2020 as an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMYSD) , funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Similarly the Imo State government floated a 4b naira youth empowerment programme which the opposition party in the State, the PDP has described as a hoax.
Highpoints of the event included raffle draws and a drama to lighten up the day on indecent dressing and rape as its consequence.
 of the Nekede Empowerment Development Association(NEDA),has ended with a call on Autonomous Communities in Imo State to set up youth empowerment bodies in their communities. ){kind=link}