The Benue State Commissioner of Youth and Sports Development, Rt. Honourable Terkimbi Ikyange has stated that the state will leverage on the power of sports as well as private sector partnerships to curb unemployment in the state, especially amongst youth.

The Commissioner made the assertion during a working visit to the office of the Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh in Abuja.

He asserted that sports has the power to create an ecosystem that is economically lucrative, that will provide jobs and opportunities to the state’s teeming population.

Rt. Hon. Ikyange said that “part of our agenda is to come up with innovative ideas, that will create jobs for our population. Our strategy includes leveraging on sports and the valuechain that comes with it, as well as enter into mutually beneficial public-private partnerships. Through these avenues, we will curb the rate of unemployment in Benue State.”

In his meeting with Senator Enoh, their discussion focused on various ways youth in the state and Nigeria in general can be empowered towards leading better lives.

As part of his itinerary, Hon. Ikyangye scheduled engagements with private sector giants, with discussions hovering on youth centered initiatives.

 “My team and I are also leveraging on strategic relationships to lure partners including multinationals, to the table,” the Commissioner said. “Our short term and long term goals have been laid down, and we will prosecute them using designed methodologies,” he concluded.