Rivers plans to employ 5,000 youths into civil service

• Urges Level 1-10 officials to resume work
• 247 persons benefit from business development training in A’Ibom

Rivers State government has said that it is planning to employ at least 5,000 youths into the civil service.

The move, the state government said, was to cushion the employment gap in the state.

The approval for the recruitment was given, yesterday, during the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Nyesom Wike at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

The state’s Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, Mr. Sylvanus Nwankwo, while briefing journalists after the meeting, said the youths must not be more than 35 years.

He said that the existing vacancies in the civil service included engineers, lawyers, medical doctors, technicians and other fields of profession that these youths will fill.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, said the council approved that civil servants that were asked to stay back at home during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown are to resume work on Monday November 2, 2020.

Besides, the commissioner said the council also approved a minor cabinet reshuffle that has moved the Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs to take charge of the Ministry of Works.

He said the current commissioner for works would now head the Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning, while the commissioner he is replacing moves to the Ministry of Transport and the current Commissioner for Transport will now be in charge of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Community Affairs.

IN another development, no fewer than 247 persons, made up of youths and women from Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District, have concluded a five-day entrepreneurial development- training programme in Uyo, the state capital, yesterday.

The training programme, which was facilitated by the senator representing the district, Bassey Akpan, drew participants from the nine local councils making up the senatorial district.

According to the consultants, the training was part of strategic empowerment programme aimed to boost the entrepreneurial development skills of women and youths of Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District.

In a lecture delivered by one of the lead consultants, Mr. Etuk Jacob, participants were drilled on business survival skills, director’s remuneration, profit maximisation, setting and achieving of business goals.

Earlier in his remarks, Akpan urged the beneficiaries to put to use the knowledge acquired from the programme.

He stressed that the training initiative was an opportunity for the participants to sharpen their entrepreneurship skills, which he noted, was needed for the 21st century business environment.