Abia Governor to Collaborate with UNDP on Youth Empowerment Initiative
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has assured that his administration is ready to collaborate with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP) 2.0, describing the initiative as aligned with his government’s vision for youth development and empowerment.
Otti gave the assurance on Thursday when he received a delegation led by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Delivery and Coordination, Office of the Vice President, Mr Akubo Adegbe, alongside a UNDP team, during a working visit to Government House, Umuahia.
Adegbe explained that the visit was aimed at securing Abia State’s formal participation in NJFP 2.0, including the state’s support and identification of priority areas for youth empowerment.
Describing the programme as timely, Otti said NJFP 2.0 aligns perfectly with his administration’s development agenda for Abia youths.
He highlighted the digital economy, creative economy, energy, and leadership as priority areas for collaboration, noting that his government has already empowered thousands of youths through targeted programmes.
He said, “We are not taking the issue of youths lightly. That is why I said maybe you had a peek into what we were doing. So, this aligns strategically with our own thinking. The Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme 2.0 sounds to me like a programme that was adopted from here, because even before you came, we had already started doing something.
“There’s a programme we call the TechRise programme, where we train our young people. The first set that we graduated were about 510. And then the second set, TechRise 2.0, we graduated 849.
“It was actually supposed to be 850, but towards the end of the programme, we lost one of the students. And it’s all about the digital economy.
“If you ask me what is the preferred area, I would say digital economy first, and then the creative economy, energy, and a few other areas that our people are interested in.”
Assuring the delegation of the state’s commitment to the programme, he directed the Principal Secretary and Chief Strategy Officer to the Government, Mr Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, to liaise with the team.
He also stressed the importance of bridging the gap between academic learning and practical societal relevance.
“I’ve always held the view that after the gown, you need to integrate it with the town—the town and gown. You go and learn something in school, then you come out and decide where you want to fit in. There should be that integration between the town and the gown,” he said.
