The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ebonyi State, Dr Ifeanyi Odii, has outlined plans to stop the movement of children from their communities into domestic work, hawking and other forms of child labour if elected in 2027. He spoke during an appearance on a national television programme.

Odii identified poverty and unemployment as major reasons why many families send children away to work as domestic helpers or engage in street hawking. He said his administration would tackle the problem through youth empowerment, education and skills development.

He proposed setting up skills-acquisition centres across the state to provide practical training that can lead to employment or self-employment. The centres would offer courses in areas such as carpentry, POP installation, tailoring, animal husbandry, fishery and other vocational skills.

According to him, the programme would cover all 13 local government areas of Ebonyi State, with each centre able to accommodate about 3,000 people. This would give training opportunities to around 39,000 residents.

Odii also linked the issue to limited access to education and promised to make schooling a priority through scholarships and better learning environments. He said investing in agriculture, healthcare and job creation would help reduce household poverty and allow families to keep their children in school rather than sending them out to work.

Photo credit: Punch Newspaper