A monetary intervention by an Aide to Former president Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Jackson Ude, has improved the financial base of 80 youths from Nkporo in the Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State as each of the youth was given One  million as  business grants to set up or improve on existing business.

The beneficiaries, drawn from the eight sub-villages of Nkporo, were given the grant to establish or expand businesses in agriculture, trading, food processing, fashion, technology, transportation and other areas.

According to the initiator of the programme, the initiative is aimed at helping young people gain access to capital, build sustainable businesses and achieve greater economic independence.

Oscar Chibueze, Chif Jackson Ude’s Ambassador in Okwoko Nkporo, said the intervention was designed to provide young people with the financial support needed to turn viable business ideas into sustainable ventures.

According to him, “This intervention is about giving our young people the opportunity to become economically independent. The idea is not simply to give them money, but to provide capital that can help them start or expand businesses and create sustainable sources of income”.

He said the beneficiaries were selected from each of the eight communities through a screening process designed to identify applicants with viable business proposals.

Applicants, he explained, were required to submit their proposals and defend them before a selection panel before the final beneficiaries were chosen.

“We wanted people who had viable ideas and could demonstrate how the money would be used. Applicants presented their business proposals and defended them before the selection panel before the beneficiaries were chosen,” he said.

Ude, who hails from Amurie Nkporo and , s

Chief Jackson Ude is the founder and publisher of PointBlank News and served as Director of Strategy and Digital Communications under former President Goodluck Jonathan He holds the traditional title of Odozi Obodo 1&2 of Nkporo.

The latest intervention is part of a series of empowerment and educational initiatives undertaken by Ude in Nkporo over the years.

In 2024, he provided N40 million in business grants to 40 youths from the community, with each beneficiary receiving N1 million.

In 2021, he awarded N8 million in scholarships to eight undergraduate students from Nkporo.

More recently, Ude empowered nine young women from the community with N4.5 million, giving each beneficiary N500,000 to support their confectionery businesses.

The organisers said community stakeholders would monitor the beneficiaries to ensure that the grants were deployed for the businesses for which they were awarded.

The intervention is expected to provide the beneficiaries with working capital to either establish new ventures or expand existing businesses, with the broader objective of strengthening livelihoods and encouraging entrepreneurship among young people in the community.