Unemployment: Youths Threaten Protest As Gov’t Bans Online Betting, Pool, Gambling In A/Ibom

With the alarming rate of unemployed youths including graduates within the median age of 19 struggling to earn a living under the current excruciating hardship n the country, angry youths have frowned at what they described as anti – people policies and programmes of the State government under the Governor, Pastor Umo Eno.

This followed the banning of gambling activities – online bettings including “white paper,” the regular pool and other local and international football luck stakings that have become the regular pastimes of the growing unemployed youths.

Giving reasons behind the deployment of the state government’s fiat to effect the ban, chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS), Mr. Okon Okon, explained that the action, which the youths termed “insensitive,” became necessary following the refusal of operators to regularise their operations.

“The Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS) wishes to inform all unlicensed operators of online bettings, pool, and other related gaming activities to stop operations.

“Accordingly, the Service hereby directs all persons and businesses engaged in the aforementioned businesses without proper registration report to the Pool and Betting Department at the State Secretariat to formally register and obtain necessary licenses,” Okon stated.

However, angry reactions have trailed decision, with youths, which constitute a large percentage of the active but jobless population, raising outcry over what they described as a discriminatory regime impinging negatively on the youths’ future.

“According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Akwa Ibom ranks high in terms of high unemployment rate amongst other oil producing States in Nigeria,” noted Ubong Dick, a youth activist in Etim Ekpo local government area of the State.

“This is an oil state and we know from available statistics how much comes into the coffers of the state every other month as statutory allocation from the federation account, yet all manners of multiple taxations including unofficial charges go on recklessly without effective regulation.

“Other accruals including security votes, ecological funds and sometimes excess crude funds are at the disposal of government, yet no commensurate tax – free window for small businesses to thrive,” Imaobong Etim, a betting shop owner lamented.

“Such huge liquidity should be deployed into the resuscitation of the comatose private sector towards creating alternative job avenues to contain the burgeoning jobless youths population to take their eyes off politics,” Etim, stressed.

He recalled that “after graduating from the University over five years ago, my search for job was fruitless and I had to borrow funds with interest – to set up a betting shop, targeting the youths and the football season, but the unfavourable government is about throwing me out of business.’

Also, fearing that the shutting down of the betting outlets would ground their major income sources, the out – of – job youths noted that that “such insensitive administrative gaffe will trigger petty crimes amongst the youths already hit hard by the prevailing socio-economic hardship.

“This is football season where we make some extra cash from bettings while enjoying ourselves by following our choice clubs in Europe, but the threat to shut down these outlets could trigger revolt, and we are ready to march because government only accommodate youths who have godfathers in politics.

“Jobs and political freebies are only contracted out to politicians and friends of government to share to their cronies, while qualified graduates with no strong representative in government are left to bite the dust.

“It’s that bad in Akwa Ibom because even the civil service job slots are sold for the willing buyers who can afford the price of between N300,000 and N500, 000,” he lamented.

“My wife applied for job in the civil service, despite having all the necessary qualifications and was able to scale through the interview process, I was asked to pay N300,000, but with initial advance fee of N100,000,” a media professional who would not want his name in print, disclosed to our correspondent.