Minister reaffirms commitment to Youth development

The Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Ibrahim has reaffirmed her unwavering commitment to fighting for the rights of Nigerian youth.

The Minister reiterated her commitment while entertaining high-ranking members of the Nigerian Youth Parliament (NYP) in Abuja, the country’s capital, during a courtesy visit led by their speaker, Azeezat Yishawu.

The Minister applauded the speaker for her stewardship of the parliament and also gave the assurance that she would look into the challenges of the NYP and provide the necessary support.

Dr. Ibrahim promised to study the report on the National Youth Security Summit, adding that she is very passionate about women and youth.

She attributed the success of Yishawu partly to the support she enjoyed from the male members of the Parliament and called for the need to give women more space to exhibit their leadership qualities.

In her address, the Speaker of the Parliament, Azeezat Yishawu said Nigerian Youths are behind her and ready to provide all the necessary support to help her succeed.

Yishawu noted that the responsibility of the Minister is huge as she is responsible for about half of the population of the country.

She disclosed that the Nigerian Youth Parliament under her leadership had carried out some activities such as the National Youth Security Summit that was held last year to examine how young people can participate in keeping the peace in the country, research on drug abuse due to the sudden increase in cases of drug abuse and social vises by young people and issues relating to Youth employment.

The NYP complained that it was short of funds and that it had impeded the execution of many of its programmes.

The Director Network and Social Mobilisation Department of the Ministry, Hajia Amina Daura informed the Minister that the Nigerian Youth Parliament was inaugurated on the 28th of August, 2008 by the former President, late Alhaji Umar Musa Yar’adua, and GCFR.

She added that the current session, which is the fifth, was inaugurated on the 9th of December, 2021 and has a non-renewable term of two years.

The director disclosed that the NYP serves as a training ground for preparing young people for leadership roles and allows them to make inputs in decisions and matters that affect them.