WELCOME ADDRESS BY MR. PETER ISAH, THE CHAIRMAN FOR KOGI YOUTH ENLIGHTENMENT INITIATIVE [KYEI]; AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE FIVE THOUSAND [5000] PEACE AMBASSADORS, 24th April, 2021.

On behalf of the leadership and the entire membership of KYEI, I welcome you all to this historic occasion. I especially welcome our Governor and all the members of his entourage that have honoured our invitation to participate in this special event. We are particularly thankful to our royal fathers that are able to make it here in spite of the short notice. We are indeed in a new dawn in Kogi state. What we are doing here today was unthinkable just few years ago.

Fellow ambassadors, for eight [8] years, It has been my honour to serve as your leader. I would ask for an opportunity someday ahead to share some thoughts on the journey that we travelled together as the members of Kogi Youth Enlightenment Initiative. We would talk about the future of KYEI. Five years from now we shall witness the vitality of KYEI as one of the most powerful youth, women and children friendly organisation ever known in the history of humanity. We especially members of KYEI have come together in the past when the dark cloud portends evil omen for all Kogites before, during and after the Presidential, National Assembly Elections of the 2019 majorly on the streets of Lokoja and in Iyale in Dekina LGA calling on our people to embrace peace and shun violence. We have once stopped over in the course of our Peace Walk at the front of Kogi state government House the Old Kogi Cycle way, where the press gave us an audience to state the aims and objectives of KYEI as regards peace and other critical areas. As the Chairman of this noble platform I was also invited after our peace walk in Lokoja by the NTA to give live interview mainly on peace.

We have extended hand of fellowship to countless numbers of orphanages before, during and after the dreaded the pandemic through the donations of food items. Our team on public welfare and services has visited the Yakope Orphanage at Adankolo. The same team has involved itself in the environmental sanitation based on our believe that cleanliness is next to Goodliness.

Today we can boldly say that our state is blessed with citizens who volunteer to defend all of us by inculcating in us and others the resilient spirit of preaching peace to the rest of the citizenry in order to overcome dangers and other human negative tendencies through the entrenchment of valuable instincts and concepts that promote peace building processes as against the needless promotion of culture of violence. I have cherished meeting most of these selfless Patriots here and their respective families. We owe all of you a debt of gratitude as our five thousand [5000] Peace Ambassadors. You are highly spirited individuals given your personal indications through incredible and careful thoughtfulness to be part of this important youth engagement for the achievements of purposes that would put our state at an enviable height amongst the comity of other nations.

I want to thank the current leaderships of the Alhaji Yahaya Bello and Chief Edward Onoja led administration for providing peaceful atmosphere through a robust collaborative security arrangements in Kogi state. Your leadership examples on security have provided strength for a lifetime. May God bless you and your siamese twin; Chief Edward David Onoja.

We are willing to work with the political class and the government in power across board to make our state a place of pride to both the current and future generations. We therefore call on to re-awaken your proactive-ness for the swift implementation of government policies on youth, women and children for the betterment of the society. We seize this opportunity to call on you to press once more on Federal government to complete Ajaokuta Steel Company for massive employment creation for the youths and also to help in the generation of revenue for our state and the nation in general.

Your Excellency sir, We have intentions to do more but we are however limited by an effective utility vehicle. This we seek you to do use your good offices to use your rare sense of compassion to assist us so that we can reach out to morethan we have reached currently.

Once again I want to thank everyone who is here to witness this historic event. Our prayer is that this will be a template that will be sustained in the future. The benefit of this type of interaction for both the politician and the youth cannot be measured. I wish everyone journey mercy back home.

Thank you all