Appoint under 40 as youth commissioner, Ogun NYCN tells Abiodun

Following the unbundling of the ministry of sports and youth in Ogun State, the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), has asked Governor Dapo Abiodun to appoint a youth commissioner who is under 40 years.

The newly elected State Chairman of NYCN, Akolawole Shoremi, made the demands while speaking with newsmen shortly after his emergence at the elective congress of the NYCN in the state held in Abeokuta.

Our correspondent reports that Abiodun had promised to create a Ministry of Youth development after unbundling the hitherto Ministry of Sports and Youth.

While Wasiu Isiaka has been named Commissioner for Sports alongside the recently inaugurated 19 commissioners, the youth commissioner’s appointment has not been made by the governor.

Speaking with newsmen, Shoremi demanded that the youth commissioner should fall within age 40 in order to give young indigenes of the state a sense of belonging.

The NYCN Chairman admitted that the last commissioner for sports and youth was 36 years as of the time of his appointment, hoping that “the governor will do better this time around.”

“The last commissioner that was appointed, if I am not mistaken, was 36 years old as at the time of appointment. We also hope that the governor would be able to do better this time around to give us a youth who is not far from the youthful age, a youth who is under 40 years old. That’s our expectation.

“Leadership also comes with experience and this experience also comes with age,” Shoremi said.

Shoremi, who was the state secretary of NYCN, also asked the government address challenges confronting the youth most especially unemployment and among others.

“The challenges of the youths are enormous, and they are not limited to Ogun State, they national and global challenges.

“We keep advocating for a safe space for the youth in terms of consideration for leadership positions, policies that are directly or indirectly contribute to the progress of the youths,” he said.

He vowed to pursue his agenda tagged ‘Ogun Youth Council of Our Dreams’, including facilitation of educational support programmes, capacity building empowerment, job creation, sports and social welfare among others.

The elective congress had in attendance Ogun State Commissioner for Sports, Wasiu Isiaka, Osun State Commissioner for Youth Affairs, Moshood Olagunju, the national leadership of the NYCN and other major stakeholders.