The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has distanced itself from the activities of St. George International Resources LTD; which recently placed advertorials in several national dailies asking young Nigerians to pay certain fees to enable them participate in a youth empowerment scheme.
The ministry, in a statement signed by its Permanent Secretary, Chinyeaka Christian Ohaa, further directs Nigerians to refrain from further transactions with this company on the strength of the belief that it has the endorsement of the Ministry.
The ministry’s statement reads:
“The attention of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has been drawn to activities of ST. George International Resources LTD. Group which approached the Ministry for partnership to deliver on a proposed International Youth Empowerment & Development Scheme which was published in the Daily Sun of 9/12/15, The Nation and Daily Trust of 10/12/15.
“The Ministry adopted the principle of the scheme because of its foreseeable far reaching effects on the various policy direction of creating jobs and employment opportunities for Nigerian youths. The proposal was for a delegation of the Ministry to be led by the Minister and other top officials of the Ministry to visit some of the countries where the training will take place, discuss with the Development Partners and sign the MOU that will kick start the programme.
“Unfortunately, the said Company, St. George International Resources Group had, in violation of the terms of agreement proceeded to recruit and collect money from prospective applicants. Not only that, in a publication on its website purported to have originated from the Ministry and signed by the Permanent Secretary, St. George International Resources Group LTD misled many young people to believe our wholesome endorsement of the said programme.
“The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development highly regrets any inconvenience caused by the actions of St. George International Resources Group Ltd. The Ministry further directs Nigerians to refrain from further transactions with this company on the strength of the belief that it has the endorsement of the Ministry.
“Furthermore, the Hon. Minister has directed that every step should be taken to secure the monies so far collected and a process has been initiated to unbundle the mystery surrounding this unfortunate development. In line with probity, the Hon. Minister has ordered the company to refund all monies so far collected from applicants within 7 days of this publication.”