WORLD YOUTH SKILLS DAY: A’ IBOM GOVERNOR’S WIFE MAKES CASE FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT

evangelist.com.ng edition, Sunday July 16, 2023. By James Akpan

The Wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Patience Umo Eno, on Saturday, hosted over 300 selected skilled Akwa Ibom Male and Female youths as well as other government functionaries to celebrate year 2023 World Youth Skills Day.

The Day set aside by the United Nations to strategically celebrate and equip young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship held at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Uyo.

Recognizing the significant roles that youths who engage in Small, Micro and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) play in job creation and sustaining development in the society, the Governor’s Wife, Pastor Patience Eno saw the need to equip young entrepreneurs with the knowledge needed to scale-up their businesses and boost their income.

Marking the day with the theme: “Youths and Entrepreneurial Skills in our Society : Book Keeping, Pricing and Branding”, the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State stated the relevance of feeding young entrepreneurs with vital information that will make their businesses thrive.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity today to address the diverse group of young people in Akwa Ibom State who are future leaders and encourage them to embrace the world of entrepreneurship. It is generally agreed in the global community that knowledge is an paralleled gift which surpasses all other gifts bestowed upon humanity by God Almighty.”

“It is evident that government employment alone cannot completely address the issue of unemployment, hence, we must democratize job creation and the most effective approach to accomplishing this is by fostering the growth of entrepreneurs and equipping them with the necessary tools needed to succeed thereby generating the millions of jobs required to rescue our people from poverty” she stated.

She therefore assured them of the state Governor’s commitment to encourage entrepreneurial ventures by providing an enabling environment through his ARISE agenda.

In her Remarks, the Deputy Governor, Senator Akon Eyakenyi said the strategic approach to ensuring the mastery of skills by the younger generation was the best way to prepare for the future of any society.

“Any society that does not look into what happens to the younger generation that will over from the leaders of today has not yet started. That is the value, that is the truth behind today’s gathering.”

Senator Eyakenyi commended the Umo Eno administration for deliberate investments in the development of youths and the Governor’s Wife for organizing the event.

“I am very excited that the target audience are those we are looking up for to take over. The present administration of Pastor Umo Bassey Eno is interested in what happens to the youths. The Governors vision is how to touch the youths, pick them out from the streets and help them to stand.”

Seasoned professionals shared their expertise with the youths on Pricing, Book keeping and Branding. Speaking on Pricing, Mr. Aniekan Edet highlighted pricing as a fundamental aspect of business that every business owner should set properly in order to place value on their product, while Mrs Itoro Akpama who spoke on Book Keeping, reiterated the need for the youths to keep proper records which said is the blood pressure of every business.

Taking the youths on Branding, Mmanti Umoh captivated the audience with branding tips, emphasising the need for entrepreneurs to step up their game through branding which determines the value prospective clients place on products or services rendered. She identified personal and product branding as two major factors that help in selling a business.

In their separate Goodwill messages, Mrs Maria-therese Robson, Mr Emmanuel Akpabio, Lady Edna Umo, Mrs Esta-Nta Samuel Bob, Evang. Ubong Ituen amongst others charged the youth to implement all the knowledge acquired at the event.

Earlier, setting the tone for the event, Mr. Iniobong Akpan, while laying the foundation for the event, encouraged the participants to adhere wholly to the knowledge that will be imparted on them.

Dignitaries at the event were Wife of the Speaker AKHA, Mrs Margaret Otong, Wife of the Deputy Speaker, Mrs Enobong Edidem, Wife PDP Chairman, Mrs Unyime Akpan, Female Honourable Members of AKHA, Wives of National Assembly Members, LEWA members, Female Council Chairmen, Permanent Secretaries, Wives of Paramount Rulers among others.