It was a gathering of traditional rulers, political leaders, youth representatives, and community stakeholders as the Youth Wing of the Anambra State Town Unions Council (ASTUC) brought its statewide campaign on shared values and mentorship to the Oyi Local Government Area secretariat in Nteje on Saturday, October 11, 2026.
The high-spirited event featured the official recognition and presentation of awards to five distinguished development role models, carefully selected from the five constituent communities making up Oyi LGA: Hon. Emmanuel Nweke representing Awkuzu, Chief Chukwunonso Okafor from Nkwelle-Ezunaka, Chief Ezenwata Fabian representing Nteje, Chief John Agulue from Umunya, and Mr. Oforje Jenkins representing Ogbunike.
Setting the tone for the day, the President-General of ASTUC Youth, Comrade Ken Okoli, emphasized that the ongoing grassroots campaign was born out of an urgent, critical need to combat the growing crises of wrong role models, youth hopelessness, and systemic value erosion across society. Aligning his remarks with the fourth pillar of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo’s Solution Agenda which focuses on governance and the value system as well as the newly expanded Ministry of Information and Value Reformation, Okoli stressed that institutionalizing a strong moral foundation is essential for preserving the true identity of Ndi Anambra for generations to come. He underscored that while physical infrastructure will continue to evolve over the decades, a robust value system remains the permanent currency and anchor of any progressive society.
In his comprehensive address of welcome, the ASTUC Youth Chairman for Oyi Local Government Area, Sir Chinedu J. Nwokedi, noted that the statewide initiative was far from accidental, serving instead as a deliberate strategy to establish structured mentorship and positive modeling across all 21 local government areas of the state.
Pointing out that young people currently face overwhelming societal pressures, Nwokedi sternly warned against the dangers of impressionable youths looking up to fraudsters, drug barons, and cultists. He formally charged the newly installed role models to step up as active mentors in schools and communities, partner in driving local skill acquisition and entrepreneurship training, fight against anti-social vices, and serve as true ambassadors of the state government’s “Think-Home” philosophy.
Representing the Chairman of the Occasion, Hon. Ifeanyi Anachunam, Mr. Peter Onuigbo commended the youth body for their visionary approach. He noted that by systematically identifying and celebrating credible community leaders, the youth organization is successfully filling a major void left behind after ridding the state of negative influences.Speaking on behalf of the award recipients, Chief Chukwunonso Okafor expressed profound gratitude to the Oyi youths for finding him worthy among numerous notable figures in the local government area. Describing young people as the absolute livewire of every community without whom no society can exist, Okafor pledged that the unexpected recognition would challenge him to redouble his service toward building a stronger and more cohesive society.
Similarly, Chief John Agulue shared his personal journey of grassroots impact, highlighting his ongoing community investments ranging from medical outreaches and care for the elderly to educational scholarships, street lighting, transformer security provisions, and youth skill-acquisition sponsorships.
He promised that this recognition would inspire him to continue contributing his utmost quota to the development of Umunya and the entire Oyi Local Government Area.
