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58,820 Young Nigerians Enroll in YDPAT Program, Training Phase Set to Start

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Joel Ajayi

The Federal Ministry of Youth Development, in partnership with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and Globe Takers Foundation, has announced the successful close of registration for the Youth Data Protection Awareness & Training (YDPAT) program.

In a statement issued on Teusday in Abuja by the Director, Information and Public Relations of Ministry of Youth Development, Omolara Esan revealed that 58,820 Youths Sign Up for YDPAT Nationwide so far’

According to the statement In just 53 days, a total of 58,820 young Nigerians registered from all six geopolitical zones—a strong demonstration of youths’ eagerness to gain knowledge in data protection, digital literacy, and personal development.

Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, applauded the massive turnout, describing it as evidence of the commitment of young people to nation-building. He assured that every registrant will benefit from the Ministry’s broader youth-focused initiatives.

While the training phase will begin with an initial 5,000 participants, carefully selected to ensure fair representation across the country, the Minister emphasized that the remaining applicants will also be engaged through other relevant programs so that “no youth is left behind.”

The YDPAT program will adopt a hybrid format—combining online and physical sessions to ensure accessibility regardless of participants’ location. Registration officially closed in early September 2025, and selection of participants is now ongoing. The process will run through September, with announcements and accreditation of selected youths expected in October. Virtual training will commence in November, followed by physical sessions in December 2025.

As the program advances into this critical stage, the Ministry is calling on development partners, private sector stakeholders, and state governments to collaborate and expand the reach of YDPAT. According to the Minister, collective effort will ensure that more Nigerian youths benefit from digital inclusion and data literacy.

The Federal Ministry of Youth Development reaffirmed its commitment to raising a digitally aware, empowered generation capable of protecting their rights in the digital space while contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s data-driven economy.

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Tin City Warms Up for President Tinubu as North Central Embraces Renewed Hope

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By Sunday Dare

When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu berths on the plains and rolling hills that dominate the Jos landscape tomorrow, he will meet a people resourceful, friendly and resilient but weighed down by conflict, yet unbowed by adversity.

So, tommorrow, national attention turns to the Plateau- a locale laden with history and rich with potential. From the tin mines that gave the city of Jos its name, to the Irish potato, strawberry farms and beetroot plantations that dot its landscape, Jos remains a land of promise—truly the Home of Peace and Tourism.

Jos is also deeply woven into Nigeria’s political history. Plateau is home to towering figures such as Generals JD Gomwalk, Yakubu Gowon, John Shagaya, Joshua Dogoyaro, and Jerry Useni. Solomon Lar, Senator Ibrahim Mantu and numerous others also stand tall in the annals Plateau political history.

Jos was also the rallying ground of the famed Langtang Mafia—a group of influential military officers from Langtang in Plateau State who, at the height of their power, played a significant role in Nigeria’s political and military affairs.

The story of Jos is both exciting and excruciating. The city lost its innocence some two and a half decades ago, when the popular Terminus Market was reduced to rubble through acts of arson and looting.

Thus at the turn of the millennium by 2001, Jos—and by extension, Plateau—was thrown into a cycle of unending conflict. Ethnic tensions, clothed in religious garb, tore through the city and spread across the state, dragging Jos into an abyss of violence, almost of Kigali proportions. Peace gave way to war, and tourism jaunts became undertakings to the undertaker.

Yet Jos has never surrendered. Every time it is written off, it rises again—scarred, but resilient. With its multi-ethnic, multi-religious fabric, the Plateau continues to trudge on in pursuit of peace, development, and egalitarian ideals.

It was here, in Jos, that Nigeria’s democratic resurgence was birthed. The historic SDP convention, where late General Shehu Yar’Adua and Chief Moshood Abiola held sway, took place in this city. Jos gave political life to Abiola, our hero of democracy in 1992

Now, thirty three years later, another hero of democracy and of the June 12 struggle returns to the Plateau. President Tinubu’s return and visit to Plateau State is not just to honor the transition to glory of Nana Lydia Yilwatda, the mother of the APC National Chairman.

It is a visit that carries deeper meaning—one of empathy, solidarity, and renewed hope for a people who have endured decades of turmoil. It is a mission to preach peace, console the bereaved, bind wounds, and assure Plateau of its central place in the Nigerian project.

Mr President comes not just to mourn, but to reconnect. He comes to parley with the North Central, to commiserate with a people who have suffered, and to extend the hand of renewed hope. That Renewed Hope is laying a solid foundation as evidenced by Naira at N1,455 per dollar, rising Foreign Reserves at $43bn, Trade surplus heading for N25tr. Revenues up 411% and Inflation down to about 20 per cent. Over 600,000 students benefiting from NELFUND.

This visit is more than ceremonial. It is a journey into the very soul of a people who have known pain, yet remain resilient; a land scarred by conflict, yet still brimming with hope and promise. As the Tin City opens its arms, Jos will not just receive the President—it will receive a message of solidarity, healing, and renewal.

Tomorrow is about remembering the glorious past, confronting the present, and charting a path to a peaceful and prosperous Plateau within a united Nigeria. With President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Jos once again stands at the intersection of history and destiny.

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