The Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Uche Ekwunife PhD, has restated her commitment towards poverty eradication, noting that the growing number of unemployed graduates in the country should be worrisome to every public office holder and indeed all well meaning Nigerians.
Speaking with some group of journalists on Saturday, July 3, 2021, Ekwunife noted that a greater percentage of phone calls and text messages she receives daily are from people who are either looking for Job or some form of assistance. She said that the reason why she has continued to prioritize employment facilitation and empowerment for the women and youths of her constituency is because of the positive effect it creates on the lives of beneficiaries and their families.
“The level of poverty and unemployment in the country is alarming. It is by far the greatest challenge of our society today. I have facilitated employment for over 150 graduates since I was inaugurated into the 9th Senate. As much as that seems like a drop of water in the ocean, I realized that the only way we can arrest poverty is by using every means within our disposal to fight the menace.”
“We have equally completed about 12 standard 3-bedroom bungalows for the indigent with others still under construction. Our empowerment programmes which have been coming in batches is targeted at stimulating business growth. We have so far over 2,000 beneficiaries from the different programmes. Our focus is to leverage on the opportunities available to us at the national assembly to change the lives of as many constituents as possible.”
“Besides, we have so many empowerment programmes lined up for the year, most of which are targeted at women and youths. We are equally facilitating roads construction. The roads we flagged off last year are receiving necessary attention, we are hopeful that many of them will be completed this year.”
The federal lawmaker further stated the need for government at all levels to focus their policies and programmes towards job creation. According to her, many Nigerian youths are in state of dilemma due to their inability to find meaningful and stable source of income.
Ekwunife who was a governorship aspirant in the just concluded primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stated that the essence of seeking public office is to serve the people. She said that regardless of the outcome of the election, she remains committed to promoting the ideals of good governance, and will continue to deploy all necessary legislative interventions in service to the people of the state.