The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has assured that the Green Chamber will do everything humanly possible to continue investing in Nigerian youth, especially in education.
The Speaker noted that the Nigerian youth have a lot of potential, so they must be empowered to take charge as leaders of tomorrow.
Abbas, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, disclosed this when he hosted the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Association of Nigeria fellows during a courtesy visit to his office on Thursday.
The Nigerian alumni association was joined by fellows from various African countries, including Botswana, Gambia, Kenya, Namibia, Senegal, Lesotho, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Benin Republic, Angola, Egypt, Ghana, and many others.
The fellows from other African countries are in Nigeria for the Africa Youth Month programme, which commenced on Thursday.
Abbas said: “From the brief I got, this is the 10th year of this programme, and many young people from Africa have participated, Nigeria being the biggest beneficiary, probably because of our population. We feel very proud of you, knowing that all the skills you’ve acquired over the years will be used actively.
“The House has in its little way initiated a series of programmes tailored towards catching the best among the youth. We have the Legislative Mentorship Initiative (LMI), which is a good programme for young people drawn from the 36 states and FCT, where we give them training for some weeks and integrate them into society.
“That initiative has, in no small way, helped shape our youth’s culture. We intend to expand it in years to come so that more youth will be captured. By extension, the House and the National Assembly will continue to do everything humanly possible to continue to invest in training our youth, particularly in education.”
He told the visiting fellows that the House had resolved to engage about 10 LMI cohorts as legislative aides, who would be attached to different committees to learn the legislative process and leadership.
Speaker Abbas informed the fellows, especially those from other African countries, that the House has two youth-related committees: the Committee on Youth Development and the Committee on Youth in Parliament.
Earlier, the President of the Nigerian Alumni Association, Farida Yahaya, informed the Speaker that in the last 10 years, 7,200 young people from Africa attended the program, a flagship program for the Department of State.
She said the Nigerian contingent has the most significant number, 678, from all the 36 states and the FCT.
“We have alumni from both the public and private sectors. We have come to you so you will know what we are doing in sustainable development.
“These young people have come from different African countries to learn from your leadership and wisdom and be able to share with you what they are doing.
“We also have the Nigeria Youth Future’s Fund. This morning, They had a session where undergraduate students debated the kind of Nigeria we want, and winners emerged.”
