President Jonathan urges youth not to become weapon of division

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.
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, 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