By William Effiong
Emmanuel Ekpenyong, a member of the Akwa
Ibom State House of Assembly, has submitted a bill demanding a law to
to create a pool of funds for youth development in the oil-rich state.
He said the funds shall be known as the Akwa Ibom State Youth
Development Fund "into which shall be paid all the monies received as
10% oil derivation fund, grants, and subsections from National and donor
agencies for the purpose of youth development"
The Ini member got his colleagues speaking in support of the bill.
According to a February report of the Nigeria Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Akwa Ibom received the highest
allocation of N116.6 billion from the federation account in 2016. The
state's 13% oil derivation largely placed the state above the rest of
the nation's 36 states and Federal Capital Territory.
Led by a
39-year-old Speaker Onofiok Luke, the Akwa Ibom Parliament is dominated
by people who were active in the state youth politics.
The sponsor of
the bill, Ekpenyong, is a former leader of the Akwa Ibom youth caucus, a
political youth group which played frontline role in the state's
politics under former Governor Godswill Akpabio.
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