BY BERNARD TOLANI DADA, UyoThe Member representing Abak FEDERAL Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Emmanuel Ekon, was at the weekend honoured by the prestigious socio-cultural association of youths leaders of Eket nation for empowering over 1,000 jobless youths across the State.The lawmaker, it was learnt, empowered the youths in oil and gas training, information technology, scholarships and other vocational skills.Ekon, chairman of the Houses Committee on Local Contents, was accorded the honour of a traditional title of the Pillar of Afigh Iwaad Ekid, after being inducted to the prestigious sociology-cultural association of youths leaders of Eket nation.According to the president-general of the group, Obong Iwaad Godwin Williams, Ekon deserved the honour following his track record of quality representation that has touched positively on the lives of the people of his Abak constituency and the State in general.He noted that Ekon has indiscriminately utilised his position as the Chairman of the Local Contents Committee in the House of Representatives to impact positively in the lives of the teeming jobless youths in the State.Williams, who indulged other politicians to complement such gesture, said it was time for the politicians to deviate from their limited views and tailor their programmes to cover the larger spectrum of human development for consistent peace and unity in Nigeria.Responding, Ekon, who disclosed that he had at various times rejected awards even from his Paramount ruler in his native Etim Ekpo local government area, said he was humbled to have been so recognised outside his constituency.For this, he vowed to redouble his empowerment drive to cover more jobless youths especially in the oil bearing communities of Akwa Ibom consisting of Eket, Ibeno, Onna and Esit Eket local government areas.He preached against restiveness and other vices that may overshadow the development drive of the current administration of governor Udom Emmanuel, assuring that the State lawmakers on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the National Assembly were in one accord to ensure the power pendulum remains in Eket, in 2019.Besides, Ekon promised to complement the State governments gesture in its drive to entrench the industrialisation policy in the State, saying such laudable policy would create jobs and promote ethical values in Akwa Ibom.We are working to engage the youths in more meaningful and less dependent ventures. In fact, as I was sitting there before I climbed up to this podium, I had a phone call that the name I sent to Mobil for job placement has been confirmed and acknowledged for employment, Ekon said.The lawmaker, who promised to generate more job opportunities for many law-abiding youths from the oil communities, indulged them to shun confrontational postures with the oil companies operating in the region, saying such disposition will only lead to the destruction of oil infrastructures and dwindling oil revenues that would have been used by the federal, states and local governments to create more development for the people.He, therefore, urged the restive youths to embrace peace and work to create the enabling environment for human and physical development to thrive.Government projects in your communities belong to you; you are to secure them because once they are located there, you are going to be the first to benefit. Dont go to war with the oil companies because they are for human and community development, he stated.The post AIbom Legislator Honoured For Empowering Jobless Constituents appeared first on leadership.ng.
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