Federal government unveils schedule for National youth conference

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has announced that the highly anticipated national youth conference will take place in February 2025.

This initiative, first revealed during Tinubu’s Independence Day address, aims to address critical challenges facing the nation’s youth, including unemployment, education, and political participation.

According to reports, the conference schedule was unveiled on Saturday following mounting dissatisfaction among youth organizations over the lack of communication regarding the event.

The initiative comes in response to youth-led movements, such as the #EndBadGovernance protests in August 2024 and the #FearlessOctober demonstrations in October 2024.

In his October address, President Tinubu stated, “The conference seeks to foster constructive dialogue and empower our youth to take an active role in nation-building. By amplifying their voices in the formulation of policies that affect their lives, we are paving the way for a more promising future.”

The announcement has received mixed reactions, with some youth groups expressing support, while others remain frustrated by delays in follow-up communication.

The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, confirmed the schedule over the weekend, revealing that the conference will adopt an unconventional approach.

Olawande explained that the event will span 30 days, with the first three weeks focusing on grassroots engagement across federal constituencies, states, and local governments.

Delegates will then gather in Abuja during the final week to assess progress and develop actionable strategies.

“We will do the confab by the first week of February. It is not going to be the usual confab. About three weeks will be spent engaging the grassroots,” Olawande said, according to The PUNCH.

He also announced that President Tinubu would inaugurate selected delegates by mid-January.

The minister emphasized that the conference would prioritize action over rhetoric. “We’ve shifted from the traditional ‘talk and spend money’ format.

The President has directed us to create an action-oriented event. By year’s end, we will finalize the modalities and form committees with representatives from ministries and agencies to collaborate with the delegates,” he said.

Olawande highlighted that the event seeks to avoid the shortcomings of past conferences, such as the 2014 confab, by adopting a results-driven methodology.

“This is not just another conference. We are going to the grassroots to ensure inclusivity and tangible outcomes,” he added.

By mid-January, the government plans to nominate and inaugurate delegates, paving the way for the conference to begin in early February 2025.

The initiative is poised to serve as a platform for addressing pressing youth issues and fostering meaningful contributions to Nigeria’s development.

“This period, we have been looking at what has been done and how we can do things differently and better. That is why we are taking our time because we want results.

“As of now, we are setting up committees and giving them templates. We need to go back to where the challenges are the grassroots.

We will not have the same people in various youth organisations who have always been there for a long time and just recruit them for the confab. We don’t think that is the right step this time around,” Olawande further noted.

According to reports, in October, Ayodele Olawande announced the federal government’s plan to establish a task force dedicated to implementing the recommendations from the youth conference.

Olawande explained that the task force would play a critical role in transforming the conference’s recommendations into actionable measures, such as executive orders or draft bills to be submitted to the National Assembly.

“We will request the President to approve an implementation task force so that any necessary executive orders can be issued promptly. For recommendations requiring legislative action, we can draft them and begin the process immediately. It’s a done deal,” he stated.

He also disclosed that while the initial proposal submitted to the President suggested a four-day dialogue, President Tinubu opted for a month-long program after reviewing the plan to engage youths in a broader dialogue.

“We are gearing up to launch this initiative soon, with all stakeholders on board, and the President has given his full approval,” Olawande added.

Meanwhile, Lucky Emonefe, the National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), urged the federal government to expedite preparations for the conference.

He emphasized that one of NANS’ key demands at the event would be greater youth participation in governance. Emonefe advocated that at least 50% of all public leadership and decision-making positions should be reserved for young people.

“We never expected that the conference would take this long. This youth confab and engagement with the youth is very important. We urge the minister of youth to please expedite action. President should put action to his words to ensure that the conference takes place because it is an opportunity for Nigerian youths to express their mind, their challenges and demands.

“We want a situation whereby like 50 per cent of government position would be occupied by youths so that we can attend to the needs of the youth,” Emonefe said.