News
FG Launches the National Youth Dialogue to tackle challenges facing Nigerian Youth
Joel Ajayi
Federal Government has launched the National Youth Dialogue to tackle challenges facing Nigerian Youth.
The Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Mr. Ayodele Olawande performed the unveiling ceremony at his office in Abuja.
He said the unprecedented initiative is aimed at engaging Nigerian youth in constructive conversations to tackle critical issues such as unemployment, skill development, mental health and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Mr Olawande noted that the groundbreaking dialogue will provide a platform for youth to voice their concerns and contribute to shaping policies that directly impact their future.
The Minister emphasized that this platform will be extended to Nigerian youth in all the 774 local government areas across the country, adding that it will serve as a vital channel to elucidate, engage and exchange ideas on government initiatives, fostering meaningful dialogue and collaboration.
He stressed the importance of the platform in nurturing a strong sense of patriotism among the Nigerian Youth while fostering a culture of entrepreneurship, provision of extensive training as well as creating networks aimed at ensuring the long-term sustainability of youth-led initiatives.
Mr Olawande explained that the platform seeks to encourage collaboration and unity among Nigerian youth irrespective of their ethnic background or political beliefs.
He emphasized that the Ministry is dedicated to utilizing this opportunity to fulfill its core mandate, combat unemployment, and foster an environment conducive for individuals to thrive.
“With regards to the student loan program, the President has made it abundantly clear that no student should face the prospect of dropping out of school due to an inability to pay tuition fees at any university in the country.
As a result, a growing number of students are now successfully accessing the student loan, ensuring that financial constraints do not hinder their pursuit of higher education,” he stated.
The Minister encouraged Nigerian youth to capitalize on government initiatives such as the Reformed Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) and various other accessible platforms to bolster the expansion of their entrepreneurial ventures.
He further explained that these programmes provide a direct avenue for obtaining loans and financial support, stressing that aspirants no longer need to rely on influential connections to access crucial funding.
Law & Crime
Court sentences killers of Ogun couple, son, to death by hanging
The Ogun State High Court in Abeokuta on Monday sentenced three persons to death for killing a couple, Kehinde and Bukola Fatinoye and their son, Oreoluwa, on 1 January 2023.
Trial judge Basirat Adebowale sentenced the trio – Lekan Adekanbi, was the family’s driver, Odetola Ahmed and Adeniyi Waheed – in a judgement which lasted for more than three hours, DailyPost reports.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the defendants were charged with 24 counts of armed robbery, armed robbery, conspiracy to murder, murder, arson, escape from lawful custody, perverting the course of justice and receiving stolen property, among others.
Gruesome murder
The assailants reportedly trailed Mr Fatinoye, a former employee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and his wife, Bukola, alongside their son, Oreoluwa, as they were returning home from the 2022/2023 crossover service at the Christ Anglican Church Iporo-Ake, Abeokuta.
The couple who lived at Oba Karunwi Road, a street behind former Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s residence, in Ibara GRA, Abeokuta, at about 1:30 a.m. were robbed, gruesomely murdered and their house set ablaze.
The assailants reportedly tied their son, Oreoluwa, and adopted son, Felix, with ropes and threw them into a river along Adigbe-Obada Road.
Penalties
Delivering judgement on Monday, the judge held that the prosecution proved its cases against the three defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
She found the three principal defendants guilty of murder.
The judge held that the convicts did not deserve mercy, as their lawyers had requested, because of the way they killed the couple and their son.
She convicted them of counts one to nine, handing them death by hanging or lethal injection, life imprisonment with hard labour, 14 years imprisonment among others for the various offences.
“The sentence of this court on Adekambi Lekan in respect of count II is that you be hanged by neck until you’re dead or by lethal injection.
“May God have mercy on your soul,” the court held.
The judge also convicted Ms Fadairo, the wife of Mr Adekanbi, to two years imprisonment for perverting the course of justice by hiding her husband.
Meanwhile, Mr Adekanbi’s mother, Adenike, was also sentenced to one year imprisonment for making false statements to police officers.
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