A businessman and the convener of the Active Citizens’ Movement, Mr. Chidi Kanu, had written an open letter to Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, to demand payment for the supplies he made many years ago, which are still unpaid for. Mr. Chidi Kanu said he was the originator of Governor Soludo’s one-youth, two-skills programme, being coordinated by the Ministry of Youth.
In the open letter entitled, “Governor Soludo, I delivered a Vision that Empowered our Youth – Why am I still unpaid?,” Kanu said that the open letter was his last resort. “I am writing this as a last resort, not just for myself, but for every small consultant, innovator, or community partner who has ever been forgotten after serving the system in good faith. My name is Chidi Lucky Kanu, and I am the originator of the “Smart Job Project,” Kanu said. The Smart Job Project is a digital initiative for digital empowerment commenced in Anambra State in 2019 and is still in use to date.
According to Kanu, he partnered with the Anambra State Ministry of Youth Development between 2019 and 2022. “Between 2019 and 2022, I partnered with the Anambra State Ministry of Youth Development to implement this programme across the 21 local government areas and personally supplied ICT equipment worth N9,572,000…, used in conducting the digital skills training and computer-based assessments,” Kanu narrated.
Kanu further stated that all efforts to secure payment from the government for the supplied gadgets had been unsuccessful, including several meetings with Patrick Agha Mba, the Anambra State Commissioner for Youth. Even interventions by other Commissioners similarly failed to bear the required fruits. Regrettably, the unpaid supplies led his business to crumble, Mr. Kanu noted.
Ironically, the Anambra State Ministry of Youths has continued to claim, amidst several controversies, that multiple billions of Naira have been disbursed to youths after they underwent the one-youth, two-skills training. But for Kanu, “It is tragic that a government so passionate about youth development is still benefiting from the very tools I provided – while the one who made it happen is left to suffer in silence.” He then called for the government to pay him for his supplies.
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