Ondo State Governor,Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has emphasized the need to reorientate the youths in the country on the value of human dignity and pride.

Governor Akeredolu noted that the young population in the country must be consciously aware of the need to prioritize the nation’s value system.

Speaking while playing host to the Director General of NAPTIP in Akure, the Governor lamented that the craze for materialism and inordinate ambition for money are topical among reasons some youths have taken to some morally debasing engagements like prostitution and menial jobs like washing of dead bodies in foreign lands.

While urging the youth to concentrate on their initiate potentials to develop the country, Governor Akeredolu said the creativity of the youth was so enormous and as such must be productively applied to make the nation great.

He applauded NAPTIP for the tremendous work at curbing and safeguarding the lives of every citizens of the country, but enjoined the agency to sustain the desire to make Nigerian youth embrace dignity of labour and place appropriate value on their lives.

The governor who commended NAPTIP on its efforts at stemming the tide of human trafficking and prostitution, called for continuous education and enlightenment centered on the need to desist from the deadly scourge.

Earlier, the Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli said Ondo State is a strategic state that deserves the presence of NAPTIP and as such the agency is desirous of establishing a State Command in Akure.

The DG said between January 2017 till date a total of 83 persons have been rescued by the Agency from Trafficking in Ondo State, while three suspected traffickers are currently being prosecuted at various courts in the State”

She further said between 2019 to 2020, NAPTIP in conjunction with the State Governments inaugurated State Task Forces on human trafficking in 14 states including Ondo on the 26th March 2019 with the support of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and other partners and plans are in progress to do some in the remaining States in Nigeria.

The DG stressed that the State Tasks Forces on human trafficking are strategic instruments that NAPTIP has adopted to harness counter trafficking efforts at the sub-national level, creating important synergies in the fight against human trafficking in the country.