NATIONAL PROTEST: GOV ENO TO APPRECIATE A’IBOM YOUTHS WITH A THANK YOU RALLY, MONTHLY SUPPORT
For the umpteenth time, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has appreciated Akwa Ibom youths and the entire citizenry for heeding the call to maintain peace amidst ongoing nationwide protests to end bad governance.
The Governor disclosed plans to fete over 7,000 youths in the state with a thank-you rally and float a social welfare program for about 5,000 youths.
Governor Eno made these announcements during the first Sunday special worship service for August 2024, at All Nations Christian Ministry International, Eket Local Government Area.
The rally, according to the Governor, will include participation from 200 youths from each of the 31 Local Government Areas, along with 100 youths drawn from the Associations of Non-Indigenes residing in the State. Additionally, there will be a monthly empowerment initiative for five thousand youths across all the LGAs.
He noted that the planned rally, beyond celebrating the youths, will unveil the empowerment plans for the youths and residents of the State. This move aims to affirm that citizens can get the government to meet their needs without necessarily resorting to confrontation or violence.
The Governor, who described the youths’ decision not to embark on a protest as laudable, noted that their action to give peace a chance has accorded the State an honor in the comity of states in the country.
He added that the youths have further laden him with a weightier responsibility by their exhibition of responsible followership.
“I am very thankful to Akwa Ibom youths. You didn’t protest, but I heard you louder than those who protested. What you have done is to energize us even more. The responsibility you have placed on our shoulders is significant because if there is leadership, there should be followership, and you have just exhibited that followership.
“By listening to our plea, you have just said to us, ‘we appreciate what you are doing, do some more.’ I have received the message, and we are going to put in everything. We have gone back to the drawing board, and I am meeting with all the youth leadership in the State tomorrow. I can tell you that very soon, we will have a date for a thank-you rally for our young people. It will not just be a rally; we will use the occasion to tell you our plans for supporting five thousand youths across this State.
“Each Local Government will have 200 representatives. You will come and sit according to your Local Government, 31 of you, making a total of 6,200 including our other communities: the Arewa, Hausa, Igbo Community, and the Niger Delta Community. Each of those communities will bring one hundred (100) youths. If there had been a protest, they would have destroyed things, and we would have used money to repair those things. But since you heeded our appeal, it is good to appreciate you. You have made our State proud in the comity of States in this country,” he stated.
The Governor reassured that the resources that would have been used to fix damaged facilities and treat victims of the protest will be channeled towards bettering the lives of the youths in the state and furthering his administration’s pursuit of positive developments in fulfillment of the ARISE Agenda.
Governor Eno, who delivered a sermon on “Confronting Satanic Opposition,” based on Nehemiah 4:1-8 and 2 Timothy 3:1-9, followed an earlier scriptural reading from his wife, Pastor Mrs. Patience Eno.
Expounding on the scriptures, Pastor Umo Eno identified the weapons of satanic opposition to include fear, mockery, insult, and discouragement, admonishing the congregation to confront these weapons headlong with confidence in the word of God and faith.
