Lawmaker bemoans youth unemployment, empowers constituents

Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts and representative of Edo South Senatorial District, Matthew Urhoghide, has lamented the alarming unemployment level in the country and pledged support for poverty reduction, especially among youths in the zone.

Urhoghide said any youth that starts life with N1 million would have no business with poverty, adding that over two million Nigerian youths graduate yearly without securing jobs for up to 10 years. 

He stated this during an empowerment programme for youths of the senatorial district with over 40 tricycles, which he said, cost N1.038 million each.

“Some graduates, who get paid employment in Nigeria, earn between N30,000 and N60,000, wondering whether a civil servant, who earns N60,000 monthly, could save up to N1 million in 10 years. 

“So, if you can start life with over N1 million, you have no business with poverty,” he stressed. Other items the senator gave out to his constituents include sewing machines, generator sets and grinding machines, adding that the gesture was part of his electoral campaign promises to the people. 

“I get more pressure from people looking for jobs than making laws, and I pledged to provide alternative for the unemployed through training and empowerment programmes. 

“If doctors, lawyers and pharmacists like me don’t get jobs, what about graduates who studied History, Geography and other disciplines?” he asked.