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Speedy Passage Of Nasarawa Youth Bill Will Address Social Vices-Actionaid

Published

3 years ago

February 26, 2021

Country Director, Actionaid Nigeria Mrs. Ene Obi, has called for the speedy passage of the Nasarawa Youth Bill saying that it would address social vices in the state.

Obi, represented by the Director, Organizational Effectiveness, Actionaid Mrs. Funmilayo Oyefusi, made this known in Abuja on Friday.

The event was an Advocacy Roundtable Discussion on Nasarawa Youth Development Commission Bill (NYDCB) with the Nasarawa State House of Assembly Members.

Obi noted that future of Nasarawa state was dependent on the actualisation and realisation of the bill.

She said that the Nasarawa Youth Development Commission Bill had gone through the first reading before the floor of the house.

“Nasarawa State Youth today, require a legal framework for proper engagement, empowerment, and development, more than ever.

“Overtime, there have been series of continued effort by government and other development partners in carrying out various youth empowerment and development initiates in Nasarawa State.

“This has however not been structured or monitored closely for effectiveness and efficiency, given lack of political will to drive the process.

Obi added that there had also been diverse call for youth integration and involvement in decision making process of the state.

She said that the commission if established would provide a framework for structured youth engagement.

“ If established it will also strengthen the state government’s efforts and those of other development partners in ensuring that Nasarawa state youth receive all the necessary political and policy backing to engender their continued role in governance.

“Thereby, addressing all basic social vices that makes youth vulnerable to radicalisation and violent extremism.

Also, Resilience Programme Coordinator, Actionaid, Mr Anicetus Atakpu, said the organisation embarked on the project in two states of Kogi and Nasarawa State to help youths find their track.

Atakpu said the project, running in six Local Government Areas (LGA) of Nasarawa state to include Toto, Nasarawa, Akwanga, Nasarawa Egon, Lafia and Obi would address human security in conflict and emergency area of the organization’s plan

“ The bill is dear to our heart mostly because it is a bill that addresses the key primary areas of extremism as identified by our project that we are working on which centered around unemployment literacy and marginalization.

“And this is centered on provision of the bill. The bill if passed into law will address salient issues of job creation and harness great opportunities for investment.

“It also gives opportunity for the establishment of technical schools across each senatorial district which is a big win for everyone because illiteracy is not all about been educated in western education but also your ability to utilise the skills.”

Meanwhile, Hon. Nehemiah Dandaura, Deputy Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly said that coming up with the bill was a developmental stride while calling on members to see to it that the bill see the light of the day.

“I am a youth friendly legislator. So many thought about the recent Endsars protests led to the support for the bill.

“If we can have something like a commission that will have to do with youth activities, it will alleviate poverty and most of the youths will be engaged.

“Looking at our society we see that youths are graduating every day from universities, polytechnics and colleges of education and these youths are flooding the streets.

“So I feel that if the commission bill is signed into law, it will cut down lots of these issues and also relieve the youth sector from unemployment, he said.

NAN

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Sports Minister Signs Three Groundbreaking MoUs in Quest to Bolster Sports Development and Funding

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2024

The Gleamer

..Says the Renewed Hope Agenda offers best opportunity for sports development

Joel Ajayi

Driven by his undiluted resolve to boost sports development in line with the Renewed Hope mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh signed three Memoranda of Understanding, on Friday in Lagos.

Senator Enoh announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with GTI Asset Management and Trust Limited to relaunch the Challenge Cup as the President Federation Cup in collaboration with the NFF to reignite interest amongst fans and elevate it to global standards. The renamed competition will involve grassroots teams, create employment for approximately 500,000 Nigerians, engage over 100,000,000 football enthusiasts, and showcase our country’s greatness globally. The President Federation Cup will become President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s legacy championing Nigerian football.

The Minister stated thus “our groundbreaking agreements with key private sector players like GTI are indications of our resolve to revolutionize sports in Nigeria, leveraging innovation, technology, and human expertise.” He thanked Mrs Tinuke Watti, the Permanent Secretary of the Sports Ministry, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, President of the NFF, and Mr Abubakar Lawal and all members of the GTI team for their invaluable contributions.

For the second deal, the Federal Ministry of Sports signed a landmark agreement with top lottery company Yanga Games to raise the revenue profile of the Ministry and ensure a new deal for the welfare of athletes. The Sports Minister stated that “we are partnering with YangaGames to bring maximum benefits to the athletes and all critical stakeholders.We shall give institutional encouragement and support to the Management of Yanga Games to succeed in this onerous task of rebuilding our sports sub sector.”

Chairman/CEO of Yanga Games Mr Derrick David Kentebe said” We are so super excited by this opportunity to work with the Ministry of Sports Development to change the narrative about Sports in the country. We see opportunities for marketing our athletes and sports generally.” He also added that “we shall raise about 34 Billion in the next four years to assist athletes and improve sports in the country. We shall help to develop grassroot sports and sustain youth involvement through raffle draws, fundraisers and other avenues.” Senator Enoh said that he strongly believes President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda offers the best opportunity to promote systemic development in Nigerian sports and the collaboration aims to make sports more attractive to private investors so that it can receive meaningful investments from the private sector.

For the third agreement, the Federal Ministry of Sports Development joined forces with EFFA Management for specific purposes that will enhance various aspects of the sports ministry’s strategic six-point policy framework. When Senator Enoh took office, the Ministry developed a six-point agenda named W.A.I.F.A.R. This agenda includes the welfare of our athletes, activation of sports as an industry, infrastructure development, funding for sports development, activation of grassroots sports, and the reorganization of sports federations to ensure effective delivery. Senator Enoh said that the sports sector is currently experiencing a surge in efforts to improve its performance and the Ministry is fully prepared to establish partnerships that will facilitate this much-needed transformation.

With these three groundbreaking agreements, Nigerian sports is at the cusp of phenomenal development that will further propel athletes and federations towards greater success. Senator Enoh thanked all parties for keying into the vision of the Ministry and stated that the Ministry will continually pursue causes that will lead to strategic positioning for greater development.

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