Ebonyi State Governor, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, has reaffirmed his administration's commitment to human capital development, saying sustainable economic growth can only be achieved by investing in people and equipping them with the skills and resources needed for self-reliance.
The governor made the commitment while flagging off an intensive agricultural training programme for 200 Ebonyi youths at CSS Farms, Gora, Nasarawa State, on October 16, 2024.
According to a statement made available on Thursday by the Governor's Special Assistant on Documentation, Dr. Boniface Nwankwo, the initiative was conceived under the administration's People's Charter of Needs agenda to promote entrepreneurship, enhance food security and create sustainable livelihoods for young people.
Addressing the participants during the inauguration of the programme, Governor Nwifuru said his administration remained determined to ensure that Ebonyi youths were productively engaged in viable ventures capable of transforming them into employers of labour.
"Our goal is to ensure that our youths are not mere spectators in the nation's economy but active participants contributing meaningfully to economic development through agriculture and enterprise," the governor said.
He noted that agriculture remains one of the fastest routes to wealth creation and economic diversification, stressing that equipping young people with practical knowledge in modern farming techniques would strengthen the state's agricultural value chain and improve food production.
During the training, the beneficiaries received practical instruction in poultry production, piggery, fisheries, crop cultivation and other agribusiness enterprises in line with global best practices.
Beyond the training, the governor approved the disbursement of ₦5 million each to the 200 beneficiaries, including 171 ward councillors and other selected Ebonyians, as start-up capital to establish and expand their agricultural businesses.
The statement described the financial support as a deliberate effort by the administration to ensure that the skills acquired during the training translate into viable businesses capable of creating jobs and stimulating economic growth across the state.
According to Dr. Nwankwo, the intervention reflects Governor Nwifuru's belief that empowering citizens goes beyond providing opportunities for learning but also entails giving them the financial capacity to implement the knowledge gained.
"The People's Charter of Needs is built on the conviction that investing in people yields lasting prosperity. By providing both training and start-up capital, Governor Nwifuru has demonstrated his commitment to building a generation of self-reliant entrepreneurs and advancing sustainable development in Ebonyi State," the statement said.
The agricultural empowerment programme forms part of the Ebonyi State Government's broader strategy to reduce unemployment, encourage youth participation in agribusiness and strengthen food security through targeted investments in human capital development.
