The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Ebonyi State chapter, has thrown its weight behind Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru’s ongoing efforts to attract investors into the state, calling the initiative timely and strategic for economic revival and youth empowerment.
The Chairman of the Council, Comrade Douglas Ochishi, made this known while addressing newsmen in Abakaliki. He also welcomed the recent approval of the Southeast Development Commission and Southeast Investment Company by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing them as long-overdue interventions to address the marginalisation of the region.
Ochishi commended President Tinubu for showing unprecedented support to the Southeast, stating that the region had suffered from past neglect.
“We have never had it this good. Previous administrations ignored the Southeast, but President Tinubu has started changing that narrative with the Southeast Development Commission and the newly approved investment company,” he said.
Ochishi urged Southeast governors and Commission members to ensure that the development fund reaches all states and is implemented down to the grassroots.
“The fund must not remain at the regional level. We want it to come state by state, down to local governments, wards, and villages,” he said. “That’s the only way our youths will benefit and feel the real impact.”
He emphasized the importance of youth inclusion in fund administration, recommending that the NYCN be involved in managing the youth segment of the intervention to ensure transparency and equitable access.
The NYCN chairman advocated aggressive investment in agriculture as a tool for food security and youth employment. He cited the recent drop in rice prices in Ebonyi as a result of increased local production and urged the government to expand irrigation farming using available water bodies like Oferekpe Spring.
Ochishi called on the state government to partner with the Anambra-Imo River Basin Development Authority to establish functional irrigation systems in Ebonyi.
“There are large swathes of idle land in every local government. With proper channeling and water infrastructure, we can farm all year round,” he said.
On security, Ochishi revealed that NYCN Ebonyi has launched a campaign tagged "Say No to Social Vices", using stickers, awareness drives, and community policing in collaboration with the Nigeria Police, NSCDC, Ministry of Internal Security, and the State’s Neighborhood Watch.
“We are tracking cases of child trafficking and other social ills in partnership with security agencies and the Office of the First Lady. Our youth must be safe and productive,” he said.
Ochishi threw his support behind Governor Nwifuru’s recent cabinet reshuffle, insisting that public office holders, including youth appointees, must be held accountable.
“If a youth given opportunity fails to deliver, he should step aside. Ebonyi cannot afford to carry deadweight. Leadership must be based on performance,” he declared.
He likened non-performing officials to “Jonah in a boat,” stressing that allowing them to remain could sabotage the system.
Ochishi also endorsed the state government’s invitation to enforcers and investors, calling opposition to the move a sabotage to development.
“Anyone against investment in Ebonyi is an enemy of progress. Let the enforcers come. We need development and we are ready to support them,” he concluded.
He reiterated that the NYCN will continue to monitor government projects and policies while mobilizing youths across the state to support the administration’s developmental agenda.
“Ebonyi State must move forward. We cannot go back to Egypt,” he said.
