To quell youth agitation in the State, Government of Ebonyi State Tuesday said it has set aside 2.6bn SME fund for organized youths cooperative in the 13 Local Government areas of the State and call for dialogue from the irate youths.

Governor David Umahi stated this in Abakaliki during a state-wide broadcast to address the inversion of Abakaliki by Suspected hoodlums on Monday.

He regretted the activities of the hoodlums which throw the State into chaos and said Social-economic activities in Ebonyi State must return , and urged the residents to go about their normal businesses in peace.

“I have today set aside the sum of 2.6bn SME fund for organized youths cooperative in all the Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State. Let us dialogue on how you could benefit from it. This is aside from the over 100 Executive Council members, over 1100 TAs and over 2000 Ebonyians who occupy political positions in the state of which 90 percent of those who occupy this political position are youth and over 30 percent of them are also women. Umahi sympathized with victims of the protest and promise to compensate the families.

On the Covid-19 Palliatives, the Governor announced that the state government have shared all the Palliatives meant for the state.

“I will compensate all families whose loved ones were either injured or killed during this unfortunate period, whether security agencies or civilians or even these hoodlums.

“On palliatives, we have shared all palliatives we bought for our people.
“You are aware that we spent billions buying palliative which we shared to you, polling unit by polling unit irrespective of political alliances.

“We reached over 600,000 Ebonyians including those in Lagos and Abuja, the little one left now is left for our Ebonyi State University Students who were not in session.

“School has resumed; they have started carrying their items, the only items left are being taken now by students and they are 50 bags of just 10kg rice, 200 bags of 20kg rice 1,500 cartons of tin tomatoes, 2000 gallons of oil, 2000 cartons of noodles and these items for the students put together is not up to what we gave to polling units.

“We do not have any palliatives unshared. We have gone ahead with both the state and Local government to make provision for the second phase of palliative slated for December for our people,” he said. (Business Day)

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