Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has urged the Federal Government to restrict use of social media to curb half-truths.

He also called on the FG to intensify efforts to engage youths in practical agriculture, noting that hunger and idleness drive online anger and misinformation.

Mr Nwifuru spoke on Friday in Abakaliki when the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, paid him a courtesy visit during the minister’s tour of federal projects in the state.

He said that engagement of youths in practical agriculture would properly channel their energy and potential in meaningful ventures and deter them from engaging in destructive social media activities.

He noted that the imposition of restrictions on social media would check the spread of unfounded information about national development.

The governor said that while the government was not out to control the youth, it had a responsibility to protect them from misinformation and the negative impact of false social media reports.

“While growing up as a young man, it was always a thing of joy to own a farm but these days, youths hardly engage in agricultural activities. It is high time we put serious restrictions especially on unfounded stories. You go to social media and see posts declaring someone dead while the person is hale and hearty, yet the writer faces no sanction. This is not how a country should operate,” Mr Nwifuru said.

On the performance of the President Bola Tinubu administration, Mr Nwifuru said activities of several ministries were underreported, giving the impression that only the ministries of works and the Federal Capital Territory were active.

According to him, it is the first time since Nigeria’s independence in 1960 that an Igbo man was appointed minister of works, describing the current minister, David Umahi, as vibrant and committed.

“He left his signature in Ebonyi State which will be hard for anybody to erase, and we are proud and confident that he will leave the same signature in the Federal Ministry of Works,” the governor said.

He expressed confidence that with Tinubu’s achievements in physical infrastructure and human capital development cutting across the length and breadth of the country, his re-election in 2027 was guaranteed.

The governor pledged the full support of Ebonyi people in achieving the goal.

He lauded the president for establishing the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which he said attracted over 400,000 student beneficiaries, as well as Ebonyi’s own postgraduate scholarship scheme aimed at training indigenes at master’s and doctorate levels in local and foreign universities.

Mr Nwifuru added that the state had improved infrastructure and staffing in secondary schools to raise the quality of education.

Meanwhile, Mr Idris told the governor that they were in Ebonyi State to engage with the people of the state on what the present administration under President Tinubu was doing to enhance the economy and standard of living in Nigeria.

The minister said the team would also inspect ongoing federal government projects in the state.

The minister said that the present administration introduced the NELFUND programme to help the poor and vulnerable Nigerian students access higher education.

He noted that over 400,000 students enrolled in the programme while government had approved over N86 billion for the smooth running of the NELFUND programme.

He added, “This is one of such programmes that President Tinubu has designed for all Nigerians to participate; You don’t have to know anybody to be a beneficiary of the programme.’’

(NAN)