The Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi on Thursday urged youths in the State, most especially the beneficiaries of the federal government’s economic intervention programme christened ‘N-Power’ to vote President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term in office for the programme to continue beyond 2019.
He gave the charge while addressing the beneficiaries at a ‘Thank you Rally’ organized by the close to twenty thousand beneficiaries of N-Power in Oyo State at the Agodi Gardens, Ibadan.
The governor who described N-Power as an intervention programme by the Buhari-led federal government to build the youths population towards enhancing their financial capabilities for a developed society stressed that their number if in concert was enough to give Buhari the second term.
“If you fail to vote President Buhari for a second term in office, I want to assure you that N-Power will be stopped.
“We all know that your age group is 54 per cent of the Nigerian population and if the number of registered voters in Nigeria is 84 million, we can be sure that Buhari already got 61million votes.
“I want to also assure you that the N-Power fund will be reviewed upward after 2019 but you all must know that to succeed in life, you must hold your future in your hands.
“An empowered people will contribute to the growth of the society, that is why the federal government said the youths that constitute the larger percentage of the nation’s population must be well taken care of. The youths are the one that can bring the country forward and must be helped,” he posited.
While speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Jobs’ Creation, Mr Afolabi Imoukhuede who had earlier participated in the rally round Ibadan city, appreciated the consistent dedication of N-Power beneficiaries to the growth of the nation.
He assured the youths of continuous support of the federal government as their engagement had reflected the better economy and robust human capital development.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President disclosed that Oyo State had 9000 beneficiaries for the first batch of the programme and 8000 for the second batch, totaling 17000, with the assurance of a new set of the batch after the 2019 election.
He said: “We commend the participants and beneficiaries of the N-Power programme for being faithful to their country and contributing to the progress of Nigeria. Today is a great day, looking at the colourful rally with which we were welcome here today.
“It will go into history that these teeming number of Oyo youths have come out to appreciate President Buhari for changing their fortune for the better and giving them a voice to be reckoned with and for them to contribute to the nation’s economy.
“It is pertinent to remind you youths that continuity of Buhari is tantamount to the continuity of this social programme. So you must keep supporting President Buhari for the future of this programme to be assured”, he said.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Atinuke Osunkoya, hinted that the close to 20,000 N-Power beneficiaries from Oyo State was selected without any religious or political bias but through the online application.
She appreciated the federal government for the programme which she said Oyo State had earlier introduced its like in Youths Empowerment Scheme (YES-O), that created financial freedom for over a million youths in the State.
Packaged by Ojo Peter
