By Nna Anulumadu
The Anambra State Government has expressed willingness to partner with the Onitsha Archdiocesan CYON poultry farm project. Anambra State Commissioner for Youth Development, Hon. Patrick Agba Mba, made the disclosure while addressing youth during the just-concluded Annual Youth Day Celebration by the Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria (CYON), Archdiocese of Onitsha.
The event was held on Sunday, April 27th, 2025, at the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Onitsha. Speaking further, Hon. Agba Mba highlighted the accomplishments of the Soludo Administration in the area of Youth Transformation, such as training 30,000 youth in “Code Anambra” and “Level Up Anambra” under the SID.
He also disclosed that the state government has trained and empowered 5,000 Anambra youths in Phase 1 of the 1 Youth 2 Skills Solution. In Phase 2, which is about to be concluded, the government will empower 8,300 youths for business start-up and expansion, having trained them in Vocational and Entrepreneurship Skills.
“On further plans, the Soludo government is about to make 1 Youth 2 Skills more massive in Phase 3 of the program, where 20,000 Anambra youths will be empowered,” he said. “In addition, the government is presently embarking on the project of training 1 million Anambra youths in the Anambra 1 Million Digital Tribe.”
According to the Honorable Commissioner, the Church remains a key partner of the government in Youth Development. Presently, the Church assists in mobilizing youth to be trained, while Church-owned institutes like St. John’s Institute, Neni, and Holy Rosary Institute, Igboukwu, among others, serve as training centers for the 1 Youth 2 Skills Apprenticeship and Entrepreneurship Schemes.
Hon. Agba Mba also spoke on the Youth To Agriculture Scheme (YTAS), a massive youth economic transformation program through agriculture, which the Ministry of Youth Development is collaborating with the Ministries of Agriculture and Lands to drive. He reiterated the preparedness of the Soludo Administration to partner with the Church, especially in its quest to engage youths in agriculture for higher productivity, as well as any other youth development programs, to work collaboratively for greater results.
