FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 12th July 2025
Lack of Structural Youth Empowerment a Major Obstacle to
Nigeria’s Development – Oketa Calls for Immediate Establishment of National
Youth Fund
Abuja, Nigeria – As Nigeria continues to confront persistent youth unemployment, underemployment, and a growing sense of exclusion, leadership advocate and youth development strategist, Ijigban Daniel Oketa, has called for urgent action to institutionalize youth empowerment as a national priority.
In a strong policy framework submitted to the National Youth Conference 2025 Committee, Oketa emphasized that youth empowerment must go beyond slogans to become structurally embedded in government policy. He described Nigeria’s current fragmented and short-term approach to youth programs as “a significant barrier to national growth and cohesion.”
“Youth are the engine of growth and the most productive force in the economy. But without institutionalized support, we are wasting our greatest national asset,” Oketa said.
He stressed that a structured and inclusive empowerment framework would help eliminate systemic inequality and reduce the culture of “survival of the fittest” that often drives corruption and political manipulation.
Referencing a statement by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu—“Youth will not be exploited to do the bidding of the government. Instead, our administration will work with and for the youth, providing them with a platform through which they may fulfill their greatest aspirations”—Oketa urged the government to match rhetoric with decisive action.
He called on the National Assembly to accelerate the passage of the bill for the National Youth Fund for Economic Empowerment and Leadership, which is currently under review. His policy submission includes recommendations such as:
·
Expanding the youth beneficiary age
limit and reason.
·
Establishing a 10-year structural
funding plan to support youth entrepreneurship and leadership programs.
·
Appointing a visionary youth CEO of
certain age bracket to lead the Fund’s secretariat.
·
Integrating the Fund into the national
budget with annual impact and financial reports.
“This Fund, if passed and implemented transparently, will not only transform lives but also restore hope and inspire a new generation of productive citizens,” Oketa added.
The National Youth Fund, he said, must become the institutional platform through which Nigerian youth access real opportunities to innovate, build, and lead.
Ijigban
Daniel Oketa
Executive Director: Citizen Voices Empowerment Foundation and Convener-
National Youth Coalition for Transformative Leadership Initiative (NYC-TLI)
Abuja Nigeria.