Abuja- President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday reiterated his appeal on youth across the country to always shun acts capable of disrupting peace and stability of the nation.
Jonathan made the appeal at the grand finale of the Press Play Empowerment seminar, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Abuja.
The President, who was represented by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, said the task of building a great nation was the responsibility of all Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic and socio-political backgrounds.
“The task of building a nation does not fall to any one man, one tribe, one religion or one political party alone. This responsibility belongs to all of us as citizens.
“We must remember that we are, first Nigerians. Our diversity is our strength and we must never allow it to become a weapon of division.
“As young Nigerians, you cannot be spectators of national development. You must join this movement that is taking Nigeria forward. You all have a key role to play and must recognise that each of you hold within, a piece of the great Nigeria of our dream.’’
According to the President, his administration has introduced various programmmes and policies for youths to find support for their innovations and business ventures.
“I am delighted that PressPlay is introducing our young people to some of these programmes, so you too can contribute,’’ he said
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In his remarks, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga said that the government had identified unemployment as one of the major challenges facing youths.
He, however, revealed that the first ever Presidential Jobs Board, chaired by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, was inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan to address youth unemployment problem.
According to him, the Board has the mandate of creating at least two million jobs annually and it has so far done creditably well in meeting this target.
The Co-ordinator, PressPlay, Ms Angela Jones, said the initiative was geared towards encouraging youths to be creative, resourceful and key into entrepreneurship to become future employers of labour.
She acknowledged the support given to the initiative towards achieving its goals.
She advised the youths to occupy themselves in meaningful services to sustain their integrity.(NAN)
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