The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila has said that the Nigerian youth are the present and future leaders of the country, as such they should be given the necessary support to succeed.
Speaker Gbajabiamila said “all governing actions and policy priorities must ensure that our young people can dream big dreams and achieve grand ambitions.
“This includes ensuring that they have access to quality education and training to develop the skills required in the modern economy,” Gbajabiamila said, while declaring open a public hearing on a bill to establish the National Youth Development Commission organized by the House Committee on Youth on Thursday, at the National Assembly.
The speaker said the bill, an effort by a member, Hon. Simon Karu, is to advance policy recommendations to establish a framework for coordinating a national strategy for promoting the social, economic and political advancement of our nation’s youth.
“Like all such Bills, it is a proposal that will be improved through thorough consideration and informed debate as it makes its way through the legislative process in the National Assembly.
Noting that the Nigerian youths make up a significant majority of our population, Gbajabiamila said: “They are our nation’s present and future,” adding that all avenues for ensuring that young people have access to capital to innovate and build enterprises in every economic sector should be explored.
He said the purpose of the public hearing is “to sample the opinions of stakeholders from across the country so that from the agglomeration of these multiple views, we might fashion a legislative approach that serves the best interests of our country.
“Therefore, all of us here today have a lot of work to do. I encourage you to do it well by ensuring that the contributions you make are informed and considerate, taking into account all the challenges we face in our country today as well as the opportunities that abound.”
Earlier, the committee chairman, Hon. Hon Yemi Adaramodu, who was represented by Hon. Onofiok Luke, said the hearing was to consult and engage extensively with the stakeholders to have their inputs.
Considering the enormous potential of the Nigerian youth, he said, the establishment of the commission will help a great deal.
“It will provide social and economic focus to our youth. We seek and solicit your assessment of this bill. Your inputs are very important to our work,” he said.