Igbo youths under the aegis of Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) have accused President Goodluck Jonathan of not fulfilled promises he made to them which made them to vote massively for him in the 2011 elections.
The Igbo youths alleged that the Federal Government under President Jonathan has neglected them and their area in infrastructural provision.
They said that they were not involved the Government’s empowerment programmes.
They threatened not to support him in 2015 unless they see tangible actions to provide for the welfare of the youths in Igboland.
The new President of Ohaneze Youth Council, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro who made the allegations urged President Jonathan to as a matter of urgency do something for the Igbo youths to feel th impact of his transformation programmes.
Isiguzoro recalled that Igbo youths “worked assiduously to ensure that President Jonathan emerged, but three years after, they were yet to feel the impact of his administration”.
Ohaneze Youth leader noted with regretted the high rate of unemployment among Igbo youths, and appealed to the President to accommodate them in his transformation agenda with regards to youth development and empowerment.
“I have kept saying it that we mobilized, canvassed and worked seriously to ensure that he (Jonathan) won, but since then, the Igbo youths have not seen any impact of his administration on us.
“So, we call on him to ensure that Igbo youths are accommodated in his transformation agenda. That is the only way we can assure him of our support in future”, the OYC leader said.
Isiguzoro called on the Federal Government to set up a South-East Development Commission like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to cater for welfare of millions of unemployed Igbo youths in the country or include them in the N59.9 billion Amnesty Programme.
According to him, the inclusion of Igbo youths in the Amnesty Programme would reduce kidnapping in the South East and make the zone to reclaim its position as the foremost commercial hub of the country.
He promised that his leadership in Ohanaeze Ndigbo would cooperate with willing non governmental organizations (NGO’s) and relevant government agencies to set up vocational centres across the states of the South East for skill acquisition as part of efforts to reduce unemployment to the barest minimum in the country.
“I also call on the Governors of the South East to see what they can do for the youths in the zone. They have budgets allocated to the Youth Ministries and we are going to ensure that we visit all the states, all the Commissioners for Youth Development or Ministries for Youth Development, to ensure that the money budgeted in their various states will be fully utilized for youth empowerment programmes”, Isiguzoro said.
He also promised that OYC would partner with the private sector to ensure that they live up to their Corporate Social Responsibility to the people and regretting that many people come to Igboland and make money, yet they do not have anything to offer the youths.
