…As Five Enugu youths secure fully funded US scholarships at Peter Eze Youth Connect
Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah of Enugu State has urged youths in the state to look beyond federal quotas and government appointments, challenging them to position themselves for opportunities that can open doors to education, skills, enterprise and global careers.
Mbah spoke through the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, at the Peter Eze Youth Connect programme organised by the Federal Character Commission in Enugu.
The event, held at the Enugu International Conference Centre and themed Beyond Quotas: Unlocking Opportunities for Enugu Youths Through the Federal Character Commission, attracted thousands of young farmers, entrepreneurs, graduates, career professionals and development partners from across the state.
For Mbah, the conversation around federal character must go beyond percentages, appointments and recruitment figures to address the more important question of access.
He described the programme as a practical demonstration of what becomes possible when institutions and individuals deliberately create pathways for young people.
The five fully funded scholarships secured by Enugu youths to study in the United States, sponsored by friends of Peter Eze in the diaspora, according to the Governor, offered a compelling illustration of the power of access and connection.
Mbah said the beneficiaries represented five lives and five families whose futures could take a different direction simply because someone created a connection to an opportunity. He noted that opportunity ceases to be an abstract idea when it is given a human face.
The Governor maintained that while quotas remain an important instrument for ensuring fairness in a diverse country such as Nigeria, access is what ultimately transforms entitlement into opportunity.
He stressed that a quota establishes what a person is entitled to, while access demonstrates what is actually possible.
Mbah cited the increasing participation of young people from the South-East in technical and skills-development programmes in China as another example of how exposure can change the trajectory of a generation.
He said beneficiaries who return with technical knowledge do not merely come home with certificates, but with skills capable of driving businesses, creating employment and stimulating innovation in their communities.
He said the Peter Eze Youth Connect initiative, through its efforts to link young farmers with international markets, provide career coaching and CV guidance, and create entrepreneurial connections, was demonstrating what meaningful youth representation should achieve.
According to him, representation should ultimately expand lives and create possibilities rather than merely place names on lists.
The Governor said the Enugu State Government considered its people, particularly its young population, its most important long-term investment.
He stressed that the state’s greatest investment must be in people who are educated, skilled, innovative, productive and globally competitive.
Mbah expressed his administration’s vision of an Enugu where young people can build their future within the state while using it as a platform to reach the wider world.
He called for deeper collaboration among the Federal Government, Enugu State Government, private-sector actors and international development partners, stressing that young people must remain at the centre of such partnerships.
The Governor commended Peter Eze for using his platform to create access and build bridges between young Nigerians and opportunities beyond their immediate environment.
He also acknowledged President Bola Tinubu for providing a national framework through which states and citizens can connect to opportunities within Nigeria and abroad.
Mbah pointed to developments in Enugu as examples of the possibilities that can emerge from such collaboration, citing the concession of Akanu Ibiam International Airport as an initiative expected to strengthen connectivity for farmers, exporters, businesses and professionals.
He also referenced the partnership between the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Enugu State Government to develop the Federal Government’s Digital Industrial Park into an Enugu Talent City and Artificial Intelligence Institute.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Mrs Ayo Omidiran, declared that Federal Government employment opportunities were open to all qualified Nigerians and warned against the sale of government jobs.
Omidiran said the Commission would not allow any Federal Government agency to deny a state its legitimate share of employment opportunities.
She urged young Nigerians to monitor officially advertised vacancies, prepare themselves and apply whenever opportunities arise rather than assume that recruitment outcomes had already been predetermined.
Earlier, the convener of the programme, Peter Eze, challenged youths to abandon the widespread belief that Federal Government jobs were distributed privately before vacancies were advertised.
He urged them to acquire relevant skills, prepare their credentials and pursue opportunities through legitimate channels.
Eze also advised participants to report anyone demanding money or gratification in exchange for government employment.
The gathering ultimately delivered a message that went beyond federal appointments and quotas: opportunity must be accessible, but access alone is not enough. Young people must be prepared to recognise the opening, walk through the door and turn opportunity into achievement.
For the five Enugu youths who secured fully funded scholarships to the United States, that opportunity has already become a new beginning.
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