Enugu, Oct. 14, 2019
A youth group in Enugu State known as Youth Centre For Leadership and Value Advancement says it will henceforth, demand account of stewardship by political office holders in the state.
The group also said that the days of paper projects in the state were over as all development claims of the state government would be verified.
The National Head of Legal Unit of the group, Mr Chuka Machie disclosed this on Monday in Enugu while briefing newsmen on its activities.
Machie said that there had been claims and counterclaims of what the various tiers of government had achieved in the state in the past four years.
“We wish to say that the days of paper projects are over. We will verify those claims and make our findings known to the public,” he said.
He said that a great percentage of the youths in the state were aggrieved, adding that deliberate efforts needed to be made to address their concerns.
According to him, it has become necessary for the youths of the state to start holding government accountable by asking questions about their future.
“We are witnesses that what is happening in our state is not trickling down to the masses and we want to start asking questions,” Machie said.
The Founder of the group, Mr Kingsley Ochinawata, said that the NGO had rolled out an accountability service project aimed at monitoring every political office holder in the state.
Ochinawata said that they hoped to collaborate with anti-graft agencies to monitor how the resources of the various local government areas and the state government were utilised.
“Our aim is to partner with the anti-graft agencies to fight corruption in the system. We can no longer stand aloof and watch them plunder our future,” Ochinawata said.
Mrs Grace Adamechi, the legal adviser of the group, said that they would not be confrontational in their efforts to enthrone good governance in the state.
“We just feel that things should not be happening the way they are currently,” she said.
Miss Mirian Okoro, a member of the NGO, said that the group was focused on two key areas – good governance and youth development.
“We want to ensure that all the indices of good governance are present in the state and that youths become productive.
“To achieve this, the state government has agreed to partner with us to empower no fewer than 2,000 youths,” Okoro said.