Youths from the 13 Local Government Area of the Ebonyi state enlisted for the N-Power documentation exercise Monday protested alleged extortion from organizes of the programme which marred the exercise.
It was gathered that the unemployed youths numbering over 200 who had besieged the venue of the documentation exercise as early as 7am had earlier yielded to the directive of the organizers to go to No 29 Gunning road Abakaliki and pay the sum of N500 to enable them be documented.
However, trouble started when the organizes directed them at about 02; 30pm to go back to their different local government areas for further directive.
The youths, angered by the directive to return back to their council areas after waiting several hours in the scorching sun trooped to the entrance gate leading to the Governor’s office and blocked the entrance.
They insisted that either the Commissioner for Economic Empowerment and Job Creation, Hon Donatus Njoku or any other government functionary must address them before they would vacate the entrance.
After several hours of waiting at the entrance gate of the Governor’s office without any government functionary addressing them, the youths had to troop back to No. 29 Gunning road where most of them had paid the sum to retrieve the money they had already paid to the agents of the organizes of the documentation.
Some of the youths who spoke to our reporter on grounds of anonymity expressed regret over the procedure and the slow pace of the exercise and wondered why the organizes would insist that they must pay the sum of N500 before they would be attended to.
When The Nation visited the makeshift pay point at the heart of the Abakaliki Main Market, hundreds of the youths had besieged the office protesting the alleged extortion and called for the immediate arrest of the organizes.
Meanwhile, there was a mild drama at the venue of the makeshift pay point when some unidentified hefty young men numbering about 5 drove to the place with a Hilux Van with registration number AKL 342 SB and immediately bundled a young man and a lady stationed at the point to be collecting the money and zoomed off.
The youths who suspected connivance and attempt to whisk the suspects away to avoid arrest, immediately went after the vehicle but their chase was in vain.
When our Correspondent visited the Cabinet Office to get the reaction of organizes of the documentation, it was observed that all the organizes had disappeared while the unemployed youths were seen in clusters discussing the unfortunate exercise.
The State Commissioner for Economic Empowerment and Job Creation, Hon Donatus Njoku could not be reached for reaction as he was said to be in a State Executive Council meeting.
