By Matthew Denis
The Kwara State government has urged youths to shun violence and embrace peace for the state to record economic growth and development,.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development, Elder Ayobola Samuel stated this during a special prayer session organised by the ministry at the 2nd ECWA Church Amilengbe area of Ilorin on Sunday.
He said, “We are calling on the youths to embrace peace in all their endeavours as a means of achieving economic growth in the state. Peaceful atmosphere will attract business investment to the state.
“Another aspect I will like the youths to focus on is entrepreneurial skills and vocational training to better their lives and for their families’ wellbeing. The state government under the leadership of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has designed a lot of empowerment programmes to eliminate poverty in the state. Seize the opportunity by becoming self reliant as white collar jobs are not forthcoming these days,” he admonished.
The presiding Minister- in- charge of the church, Revd. John Sunday Owoeye prayed that God’s spirit would strengthen and grant wisdom to the youth and give them grace to shun evil vices and become peace ambassadors in the society.
The pastor encouraged the youths to always seek God’s wisdom to lead them in the right direction just as he prayed for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari and seek for divine intervention on the activities of the insurgency.
Also speaking, a representative of Voluntary Service Organization (VSO), Mr. Olufemi Oyedeji charged youth to be selfless and patriotic in their service to the country.
He said,” The VSO will like to use this opportunity to assure you of our commitment to improving the quality of your lives and to creating opportunities for you to achieve your dreams and ambitions.
August 12 is International Youth Day and the theme for this year is “The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production,” with a special focus on SDG 12.
