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Our Priority Is To Empower, Protect Every Youth-Olawande

Published

2 years ago

December 18, 2024

… Launched a Youth Activities Dashboard

Joel Ajayi

Minister of Youth Development Comrade Ayodele Olawande has re-echoed that the priority of the ministry of youth is to empower and protect every Nigerian youth.

He stated this at the media parley for the ministry’s Correspondents on Tuesday in Abuja, where he highlighted many renewed hope initiatives that will brighten the future of many youths noting that its time for the youth to progress.

Minister expressed that in the last 40 years youth in Nigeria are unable to have access to the government until now that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu put the things right that will soon help many Nigerian youth to thrives.

He highlighted some of the initiatives, like Green House in local government, Youth Bank, Youth Trust Fund, Nigerian Youth Academy, Nigerian Youth Help Desk, One Youth 2 Skills and others that will lift many youth out of unemployment era to employer of Labour.

According to him, my objective was to ensure protection, empowerment and support for young people across the country both formal and informal.

“We are set to renewed hope of Nigerian youth, under this renewed hope agenda, every Nigerian youth will thrive. We have come to an era whereby young people bridging the gap between the youth and government.

“If there is one thing that we want to achieve as a Ministry now, it is to support the young people.

“It is to empower the young people and also to protect the young people. If we can do these successfully, I know the young people are going to be proud of this Ministry. With the help of all the directors, we have made up our mind that it is time for youths; youth for youths.

“My priority as a Minister of youth is to empower and when I said empower, aggressive empowerment

“And when I was Minister of State, we had a partnership with a lot of organisations, even within the government, departments and agencies that is why we are telling all Nigerian that the door of youth Ministry is open for collaboration. ”

Speaking further, Olawande said the Ministry has launched a Youth Activities Dashboard, that serves as a collation point for all efforts of the government targeted at the youth population.

“Today, we launched the Youth Activities Dashboard. And what are we saying? We are saying that everybody should go on this dashboard. No more sending stories to you on WhatsApp that are not correct. No more telling you that there are government initiatives that do not exist.

“We are going to put up activities that will let you discover that we have over 7,000 activities of Youth in MDAs and all that, that are not residing in the Ministry of Youth. And we have come back to say look, the collective efforts of a large number of people that believe in this country, that believe in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, that we are set to renew the hope of the people. ”

He also said the Ministry will launch the Nigerian Youth Academy in January, which he described as the Ministry’s version of Coursera, an online learning platform.

Very soon in January too, we will be coming up with NiYA, which is Nigerian Youth Academy, that for one year now, we have been moving back and forth in planning, because whatever is not planned for very well, we are going to have k-leg.

”And we don’t want to have a k-leg. We want to have a smooth ride, and we have a smooth ride now, and we are saying it is time for the Ministry of Youth to have its own Coursera,” he said.

Olawande noted that the platform, which would serve formal youths, would allow youths to study and take online classes in their preferred languages, adding that the Ministry was also engaging state governors to have a greenhouse in all the local governments, where each local government would make products with raw materials found in the community.

“And that is why we are writing to the Governors’ Forum and the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, that we want an active greenhouse in all local governments, in all 774 local governments. The President has given us one for Abuja; it’s in the process. Very soon they are going to give hand over to us.

“But we want a working youth greenhouse, whatever we call it, a greenhouse, in all so that we can partner with trade and investment. What we are driving at in December next year is we want to see one product, one local government.

“We want the greenhouse in all local governments to be impactful to the young people so that we can have a product in each local government. A product that the raw material is residing in that local government, not that we want to go and import.”

Comrade Olawande equally urged Nigerian Youth not to let the political gambler decive them urging them to key in into different initiative put in place by the present Administration under the leadership of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to thrive in life.

Minister however uses the occasion to congratulate the latest Africa footballer of the year Ademola Lookman and others Nigerians youth who made the Nigerian proud in football sector, urged all the youth in the country to always involve in anything that can positively project good image of this country.

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Eagle Times Newspaper Will Be Voice for Nigerians – Publisher Chukwunyere Vows

Published

1 day ago

October 2, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Publisher of The Eagle Times Nigeria, Sir Ikechukwu Chukwunyere, has pledged that the newspaper will promote accountability, credible journalism and public-interest reporting in its coverage of national affairs.
Chukwunyere made the commitment on Thursday, October 1, 2026, during the official unveiling and launch of The Eagle Times Nigeria.

He said the new media organisation was established not merely to add another newspaper to Nigeria’s media landscape, but to provide a platform committed to serving the public interest.

According to him, the newspaper’s guiding philosophy, “The Voice for the People, The Watchdog for the Nation,” places a responsibility on the organisation to listen to Nigerians, tell their stories, highlight issues affecting their daily lives and scrutinise those entrusted with public responsibilities.

“To be a voice for the people means that we must listen to Nigerians, tell their stories, highlight their concerns and give visibility to issues that affect their daily lives,” he said.

The publisher added that The Eagle Times would be guided by accuracy, fairness, professionalism, credibility and responsible journalism, stressing that the newspaper would not publish stories merely because they were sensational.

“We will verify. We will investigate. We will seek the other side. We will correct our mistakes when we make them,” he said.

Chukwunyere further stated that the newspaper would endeavour to give individuals and organisations the opportunity to respond whenever allegations were made against them.
“Our commitment is not to any political party, government or individual. Our primary commitment is to journalism, to truth and to the Nigerian public,” he said.

He noted that the newspaper was launching at a time when the media industry was undergoing rapid transformation, with audiences increasingly consuming news through digital platforms, including websites, television, podcasts and social media.

He said The Eagle Times would therefore operate as a multimedia organisation, combining its newspaper with digital platforms and The Eagle Times TV to reach audiences across different channels.

According to him, the organisation also intends to create opportunities for young journalists, writers, photographers, producers, digital creators and other media professionals to develop their skills and contribute to journalism and national development.

Chukwunyere said the newspaper’s coverage would include politics, governance, business, economy, security, judiciary, education, health, technology, sports, entertainment, lifestyle and international affairs.

He, however, said the organisation intended to distinguish itself not only by the subjects it covered but by the quality and approach of its journalism.

We want to tell stories that matter, we want to investigate issues that require investigation, we want to highlight Nigerians who are making a difference, and we want to give communities that are often ignored an opportunity to be heard,” he said.

The publisher acknowledged the challenges involved in establishing a newspaper, saying the venture required investment, commitment, professional discipline and the courage to pursue an idea.

He expressed appreciation to the management, editorial, reporting, production and digital teams, as well as families, friends, partners and supporters who contributed to the establishment of the organisation.

Chukwunyere also assured readers, viewers and the newspaper’s digital audience that The Eagle Times would strive to earn their trust and remain accountable to the standards it had set for itself.

He said the newspaper’s success would not be measured only by circulation figures, website traffic or social media followers, but also by the confidence Nigerians placed in its journalism.

“Today, we spread our wings. Today, The Eagle Times takes flight,” he said, reaffirming the newspaper’s commitment to its slogan: “The Voice for the People, The Watchdog for the Nation.”

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