Anambra State government has called on government at all levels to involve young people in policy making in order to restore their trust and confidence in governance.
Commissioner for Youth Empowerment and Creative Economy, Prof. Theresa Obiekezie gave the advice on Wednesday at a press briefing to mark this year’s International Youth Day, themed, “Youth Engagement for Global Action.”
She said engagement of youth in political mechanism would not only enrich national and multilateral institutions, but reduce democratic deficits and restore their trust in public institutions.
She said, “As the world battles COVID-19, the engagement of young people in spreading awareness as well as fighting the pandemic has increased.
“What makes this year’s celebration more unique is the grievous impact COVID-19 has had on the jobs and education sector, lockdown effect on the youth jobs and the schools’ closure.”
The Commissioner further revealed that no fewer than 700 youths have undergone training in various skills, including Confectioneries/Event Management, Computer Management/Software Application, Tilling, among others.
Also speaking, State Coordinator, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Kehinde Aremu commended the state Governor, Willie Obiano for injecting youths in his administration, saying it served as a template for youth inclusiveness for other states to emulate.
He described as mockery the slogan, “the youths are the future leaders”, insisting that it was high time youths were fully integrated into governance at all levels.
Aremu challenged the youths to ensure they remained useful in their youthful age through positive impact to continue to build confidence reposed in them.
He said, “Anambra has one of best youth friendly policies in the country, including injection of young people into the cabinet and have been doing well.
“For us in NYSC, we’re seamlessly aligning our posting policies to address the insufficient manpower, particularly in the health and education sectors.
“We’re very excited they are reciprocating through good governance both at the state and National levels.”
