ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), an NGO, has tasked stakeholders to push for the passage of the Nasarawa Youth Development Commission bill currently before the State Assembly.
Mrs Ene Obi, Country Director of AAN, made the call at a stakeholders’ Advocacy Round-table, on Tuesday, in Lafia.
Represented by Mr Adewale Adeduntan, Manager, Social Mobilisation, AAN, the country director said the passage of the bill for had become imperative to address youth development issues and curb restiveness.
She noted that any society desirous of sustainable development must put the issue of youth development on the front burner in policy formulation and implementation.
According to her, the establishment of the commission would facilitate the harnessing of youth development programmes in a sustainable manner.
“The bottom line is to ensure that we have a robust way of engagement that would facilitate active development of young people.
“The bill, if passed, will ensure that we have a much more broader young people-oriented policy instrument that will ensure the sustainability of youth programmes,” Obi said.
She added that when established, the commission would also attract the attention of development partners into the state, thereby guaranteeing its sustainable funding.
“This is because development partners will not directly partner with government for obvious reasons, but would gladly do so with a commission that projects the interest of young people.
“They would be coming in droves to see to the welfare of young people and give them a voice,” she added.
Also speaking at the event, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Muhammad Aliyu, thanked ActionAid for supporting the youth development bill and other interventions in the state.
Aliyu, represented by the Assistant Director, Special Services, in the office of the SSG, Hussaini Musa, assured of the state government’s continuous collaboration with ActionAid to improve the lot of citizens.
He noted that the state government had collaborated with AAN in strengthening security coordination and building resilience towards peaceful co-existence, promoting youth participation in governance and skills acquisition.
Mr Anicetus Atakpu, Resilience Programme Coordinator of AAN, said the NGO was passionate about ensuring social justice for the vulnerable and marginalised , including young people.
According to him, the current system and structure had clearly sidelined young people and their interests in governance and economic development.
He, therefore, urged stakeholders to support the passage of the bill that would make for the establishment of the commission that would give young people a sense of belonging.
Atakpu said the establishment of the commission would go a long way to sustain the gains so far recorded by ActionAid through its Systems and Structures Strengthening Approach Against Radicalisation to Violent Extremism (SARVE II) project in the state.
The SARVE II project was implemented in partnership with Global Peace Development (GPD) and Beacon Youth Initiative with funding from Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF).
Atakpu explained that a similar bill had been passed and assented to in Osun state, while it was still pending in both Nasarawa and Kogi state Assemblies.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nasarawa State Youth Development Commission bill, sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly, Mr Nehemiah Dandaura, is currently awaiting second reading in the House. (NAN)
