ENUGU State Governor, Peter Mbah, has declared of his administration’s desire to create more opportunities for youths in the state.
The Governor said this in an interview granted while hosting the Enugu State Investment Roundtable hosted in Enugu on Friday.
Mbah advised young people to remain in Enugu rather than “japa (flee) their skills around the globe.”
The message from the Governor comes on the backdrop of young Nigerians continually seeking to leave the country in search of ‘greener pastures’ abroad.
“A whole lot of these programmes and the discussions we are having about bringing in private sector investment, they are all targeted at benefitting our young people.
“We have a generation of skilful people in Enugu; I mean our literacy rate in Enugu is over 90 per cent.
“Again, through our policies we want to rubbish the japa syndrome.
“We want to ensure that our people stay here and japa their skills across the globe, what they are going to be moving around the globe will be their digital skills,” Mbah said.
The Governor also stressed the need to evolve with the changing times.
“We also realise that we need to ensure that our young people are prepared for the emerging future.”
“So, we understand that the skill set that they need to thrive in this emerging future is completely different from what was required some 20, 30 years ago.
“What that means is even in our social sector we are deliberate in terms of the skill set we expose this young people to,” he went on.
Mbah fuether emphasized the purpose of the event and how it served to shape the cause of investment in Enugu state going forward.
“In our pipeline, we have an investment potential of $2 billion and we are expecting to have a closure of that figure by the first quarter of next year,” the Governor stated.
While the Enugu state Governor acknowledged that investors were concerned with the safety levels in the state, he assures them that his administration were constantly tackling the threat of insecurity, declaring the state to be one of the most secure in the country.