Planned Youth Confab Shows Tinubu’s Agenda on Course, Says Arewa Group

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The 30-day youth confab announced by President Bola Tinubu will go a long way to unite the young people across the country, and help enhance issues such as education, employment, innovation, security, and social justice, the Arewa Think Tank (ATT) has said.

ATT in a statement yesterday by its convener, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, commended Tinubu on what it described as his rare initiative in the annals of the nation’s administration towards empowering the youth across the country.

The group expressed satisfaction that the modalities of the confab and selection of delegates will be designed in close consultation with our young people through their representatives.

Arewa Think Tank therefore urged Northern Youths to be prepared to take advantage of the confab, adding that ATT was setting an agenda or road map for the northern youths on the confab.

It also aligned with the statement of the former governor of Ogun State, Segun Osoba that Tinubu should be allowed to complete two terms in office because, “He will do better. After his first four-year term, he will serve another four years”.

“We are equally drumming support for the tenure elongation for the Nigerian Customs Service Management operations under the leadership of its comptroller General, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi.

“Our call for the extension is purely clear and away from any political influence, the idea is borne out of our assessment of the Nigeria’s economic growth which is gaining momentum through revenue generation by the NCS leadership,” the Arewa group stated.

It commended Tinubu for his Independence Day speech which read in part: “As we work to overcome the challenges of the day, we remain. mindful of the next generation as we seek to galvanize their creative energy towards a better future.

“We lead today with the future we wish to bequeath to our children in focus, recognising that we cannot design a future that belongs to them without making them its architects.

 “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.

“Our government is implementing several other youth-centric programmes to give our young people an advantage in the rapidly changing world. 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 Labour Employment 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.”