FG Mulls A National Youth Conference 

By: Darlington Omotoso

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has disclosed plans to soon hold a national youth conference to address diverse challenges confronting the youth of Nigeria.

The President made this disclosure in his national broadcast made Tuesday, in commemoration of the 64th Independence celebration of the country.

Tinubu expressed optimism that the 30-day conference will, no doubt, unite Nigerian youth countrywide, giving a platform for young people to be actively involved in nation building.

His words: “The 30-day Confab will unite young people nationwide to collaboratively develop solutions to issues such as education, employment, innovation, security, and social justice. The modalities of this Confab and selection of delegates will be designed in close consultation with our young people through their representatives. Through this confab, it will be our job as leaders to ensure that their aspirations are at the heart of the conference’s deliberations. The government will thoroughly consider and implement the recommendations and outcomes from this forum as we remain resolute in our mission to build a more inclusive, prosperous, and united Nigeria.” 

He mentioned several other youth-centric programmesof his ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ geared to give young people an advantage in the rapidly changing World; adding, “we are implementing, amongst others, the 3 million Technical Talents programme (3MTT) of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, aimed at building Nigeria’s technical talent backbone.”

“We have also enthusiastically implemented the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which provides cheap loans to our students to pursue their tertiary educational dreams. In addition, later this month, we shall launch the ‘Renewed Hope LabourEmployment and Empowerment Programme’ (LEEP). It is conceived as a comprehensive suite of interventions at job creation by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment that is aimed at facilitating the creation of 2.5 million jobs, directly and indirectly, on an annual incremental basis whilst simultaneously ensuring the welfare and safety of workers across the country,” the President stressed.

Modality for the conference, according to him, is such that, delegates will be selected in close consultation with young people through their representatives and promised that deliberations and recommendations from the conference will be implemented.

“The government will thoroughly consider and implement the recommendations and outcomes from this forum as we remain resolute in our mission to build a more inclusive, prosperous, and united Nigeria,” Tinubu reassured.