By Amofokhai Williams
Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, has announced plans to convene a National Youth Conference aimed at addressing the challenges and opportunities facing the country’s young population.
This announcement came during his nationwide broadcast on Tuesday to mark Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day.
Tinubu emphasized the importance of fostering national unity and stability, stating, “As we work to stabilize the economy and secure the country, we also seek to foster national unity and build social harmony. Our economy can only thrive when there is peace.”
The president highlighted the government’s focus on the next generation, acknowledging that young people, who make up over 60% of Nigeria’s population, are essential to shaping the nation’s future.
“We lead today with the future we wish to bequeath to our children in focus, recognizing that we cannot design a future that belongs to them without making them its architects,” he said.
He said the upcoming National Youth Conference would serve as a platform for young Nigerians to engage in meaningful dialogue and collaborate on solutions to critical issues such as education, employment, innovation, security, and social justice.
Tinubu stated that the 30-day conference would unite youth from across the country, with participants selected in close consultation with youth representatives.
“Our job as leaders will be to ensure that their aspirations are at the heart of the conference’s deliberations,” Tinubu noted, promising that the government will thoroughly consider and implement the recommendations from the conference.
In addition to the conference, Tinubu highlighted several youth-focused programs currently underway. Among them is the 3 Million Technical Talents (3MTT) initiative by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, which aims to build a technical talent backbone for the country.
Another key program is the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), providing affordable loans to students pursuing tertiary education.
Tinubu also announced the upcoming launch of the Renewed Hope Labour Employment and Empowerment Programme (LEEP), aimed at creating 2.5 million jobs annually. The program, set to be launched later this month, will focus on job creation and worker welfare across the country.
