Cross River Gov Empowers 2,000 Youths With ICT Skills, Cautions Against Irresponsible Social Media Use

Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has announced plans to empower 2000 youths with comprehensive ICT training for responsible digital citizenship.

Otu announced this during a courtesy visit by the leadership of the Cross River State chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) at Government House in Calabar on Monday, during which he was honored as the grand patron of the association.

In his remarks, the governor emphasized that while social media serves as a potent tool for information dissemination, it has also become a platform for spreading misinformation, rumours, and fake news among young users.

“The usage of social media in information dissemination helps people stay connected and share ideas, thoughts, and opinions with others in a safe and secure environment. Unfortunately, misinformation, disinformation, and fake news are common challenges confronting us through the platform.

“The social media is filled with a large amount of misinformation, which often misleads the public to make wrong decisions, stimulates negative public emotions, and poses serious threats to public safety and social order.

“The youths, a primary arm of the society is the driving force on social media, and we have witnessed how misinformation from this sector has caused various problems to the society.

“As government, we are concerned about reshaping the usage of this platform for the benefit of government and to foster productive development. I charge you to use the social media to promote useful information aimed at developing the society and support government.

“The youths represents the greatest segment of government. If you don’t build and mentor the youths, there is no future. As a government, we cannot rise without your maximum cooperation. We will support the youths in all sectors and frontiers. We are starting by training over 2, 000 youths in ICT. We will continue to work with the youths to develop the state,” Otu said in a statement signed by Emmanuel Ogbeche, his Chief Press Secretary.

In his earlier remarks, Comrade Dan Obo, the chairman of the state’s youth council chapter, praised Governor Otu for his remarkable development initiatives and for providing a number of youth with opportunities within his administration.

“We are here to celebrate you, we are excited with the way the state is running and want to thank you for the engagements of youths in your cabinet. We are confident of the successes that awaits Cross River State in the coming days under your leadership,” said Obo.