Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has given an assurance that the state is ready to collaborate with the House of Representatives Committee on Youth Development in the passage of necessary legislation and initiatives that will enhance youths development in the country.
Sanwo-Olu represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, gave this assurance while receiving the members of the Reps Committee on Youth Development led by the Chairman, Hon. Martin Esin, on a courtesy visit, in Alausa Ikeja.
The governor assured that Lagos was very open to collaboration with any relevant bodies, in view of different initiatives and ideas within the system that it would like to share with the Federal Government as it is essential for the nation to keep deliberating on the youths’ demography.
Besides, the governor assured that Lagos was very open to collaboration with any relevant bodies, in view of different initiatives and ideas within the system that it would like to share with the Federal Government, saying that it was essential for the nation to keep deliberating on the youths’ demography.
Governor Sanwo-Olu noted that due to the significant position the youths occupied in the state, his administration had put in place numerous initiatives to train them on different skills and ensure that they were adequately empowered.
“The youth demography is very important and it is upon this that our government has initiated a lot of programmes targeted at our youths development, because we have realized that if we don’t get it right with our youths, we all will be in serious trouble, if not now, but in the future”, he said.
The governor said his administration deliberately included the “PLUS” which is social inclusion and youth empowerment in its THEMES agenda because it found out that there was a need for the government to focus on the youth and provide more recreational centers where they can also meet and discuss.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said that his administration, to this end, was considering a partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to review the duration of the orientation programme to accommodate more training for the youths on innovations.
According to him, this is to enable them to benefit from the innovation grants organised by the state government through Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC).
Speaking further, Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the state government was committed to providing an adequate and permanent site for NYSC Camp in the state and assiduously working on this, pointing out that the state government recognized that the existing camp was not adequate due to the continuous increment in the numbers of Corps members seeking redeployment to the state.
He, therefore, commended the committee on the initiative of establishing a National Council on Youth, saying that this would provide a platform for different states in the country to share their experiences, challenges and collectively proffer solutions to those and move the youths and nation forward.
Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Youth Development, Hon. Esin, earlier in his address, commended the Lagos State government for its continuous support to the youth in the state particularly on capacity building, skills development and agenda-building towards a ‘Greater Lagos’ that is rising.
The lawmaker noted that what the youths of the country required now is skills development, opportunities and support from the government which he said Lagos State was taking a lead in, having done a lot of interventions through various programmes, including the timely payment of allowances and meals for NYSC members, among others.
Speaking further, Hon. Esin urged the state government to sustain that, pointing out that states governments must equip the youth with good skills and capacity building for a sustainable future as, according to him, Nigerian youths represent over 60 per cent of the country’s population.
“We know that the youth of this country represent over 60 per cent of the population which is why states governments must equip the youth with good skills and capacity building for a sustainable future,” he said.
Speaking further, the lawmaker stressed the need to activate a National Council for Youth Development that would serve as a platform which the Federal Ministry of Youth Development engages the state commissioners for youth Development for them to fix ideas and see how to take the youth to the next level.
“As a collaborative government that you are, we want Commissioner and the same at the local government level to quickly align with that initiative so that we will be able to get input from the state level to the local level.
“We at the National Parliament Committee on Youth Development are open to collaborating with the state governments on empowering the youth and creating an enabling environment for them to strive,” he assured.
