From Rita Nworie, Abakaliki
The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ebonyi State, Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, has vowed to tackle child hawking, domestic servitude and other forms of child labour through massive investment in education, skills acquisition and job creation if elected governor in 2027.
Odii, who made the promise during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, said poverty and unemployment on Monday were major factors forcing some families to send their children away from home to work as house-helps or engage in street hawking.
The PDP candidate said his proposed administration would establish skills-acquisition centres across the 13 local government areas of the state, with the aim of equipping youths with practical skills that could make them self-reliant and reduce unemployment.
“We’ll be reeducating our people. The youths, some of them, we train them in skills acquisition, building skills acquisition centres,” Odii said.
He listed carpentry, POP installation, tailoring, animal husbandry, fishery and other vocational trades among the areas that would be covered by the proposed centres, saying each local government would have facilities capable of accommodating about 3,000 people.
“That means if we do that, we’re accommodating about 39,000 Ebonyians,” he said, adding that empowering young people would create opportunities for families and reduce the economic pressure that contributes to child labour.
Odii also promised to make education a major priority through scholarships and improved learning environments, saying children should be kept in school rather than being pushed into hawking, domestic work and other economic activities at an early age.
He said his administration would equally invest in agriculture, healthcare, rural roads and the development of Ebonyi’s agricultural and mineral resources to create jobs and increase household incomes.
The PDP candidate said ending child labour required more than prohibition, stressing that government must address the poverty and lack of opportunities that make children vulnerable to exploitation. He promised greater investment in mechanized farming, skills development and policies to attract private-sector investment as part of his campaign agenda for the 2027 governorship election.
