By Henry Uche
The Chairman, House Committee on Youth Development, Hon. Martins Esin, has challenged the federal government and state governors to ensure that their financial and non- financial budgets accommodate the interest of the youths.
The lawmaker who represents Oron/Mbo/Okobo/Udung Uko/Urue Offong/Oruko federal constituency of Akwa Ibom State, made the call on Friday in Lagos at a two-day retreat for House Committee on Youth Development, organized by Yiaga Africa (Centre for Legislative Engagement) and funded by European Union under its EU support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Project (EU-SDGN).
Esin affirmed that he would not leave any stone unturned to ensure that the interest of Nigerian youths, which he estimated to be about 120 million, are qualitatively represented.
“If we secure the future of our youths, we have secured the country. The youth needs what I tagged ‘SOS’ which stands for Skills, Opportunity and Support. So the onus rest on the shoulders of the government including legislators to go on mass skills empowerment programmes for youths, provide the right environment for them to thrive and also offer necessary support – technical, mentorship – until they’re established.
“The government cannot provide white collar jobs for over 120 million young people, so the way forward is skill empowerment. This can work when a significant amount of money is budgeted for youth development and a prudent implementation of every plan, policies and programmes are taken into action”
Earlier, the Coordinator, Yiaga Africa, Centre for Legislative Engagement, Mr. Samuel Oguche, reaffirmed Yiaga’s commitment in ensuring that government at all levels are checked, to deliver mandatory and statutory responsibilities.