Oden Ewa, the Cross River State Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, has doled out a N100 million youth grant for each of the six local council areas of Cross River Central Senatorial District, as a direct intervening approach that will help stimulate the suppressed entrepreneurial spirit of youths in the Senatorial district.
Ewa who made the grant announcement and cash presentation during the just-concluded tour of the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State under the platform of the Oden Ewa Central Youths Connect, added that youths in Nigerian youths, must learn to support and embrace progressive ideals, fully represented and demonstrated by the purposeful governance of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu and Cross River State Governor, Bassey Edet Otu, he maintained, have both made impactful and sustainable contributions to youth development at the national and state levels by investing in programmes and policies that secure the future of young Nigerians.
He further educated the large number of participants at the event, on the core principles of progressive leadership, drawing a distinction between such leaders and what he described as static and retrogressive “push-and-start” leaders—individuals he said, lack the zeal, vision, and capacity to create value or provide purposeful leadership, and who can only offer temporary handouts rather than lasting solutions.
“Stomach infrastructure”, he added, cannot bring about genuine human or societal development. “Youths must not settle for less but must align themselves with progressive leaders and the APC, who have prioritised investments in infrastructure and human capital development, provides this opportunity”.
During the two-day tour to communities in Boki, Etung, Ikom, Abi, Obubra, and Yakurr local council areas, Ewa held a series of engagements and interactive sessions with youths, APC members, and community leaders, highlighting their critical roles in shaping the future of Cross River State and Nigeria.
The Oden Ewa Central Youths Connect, is a visionary initiative designed to create a platform for intellectual engagement and purposeful interaction with youths across the district.