by The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has made a strong case for investing in building young people for leadership roles in governance.
Mr Gbajabiyamila was unequivocal when on Monday he addressed the opening of the Legislative Mentorship Initiative (LMI) in Abuja, a programme he initiated to build the next generation of Nigeria’s public sector leaders.
He said equipping young people and involving them in governance remained the only way they would be committed to nation-building and sustain the development of democracy.
The initiative, according to him, is in line with his long-lasting vision of mentoring the younger generation from his more than twenty years of experience in public service.
The programme, which will last for three weeks, draws young participants from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, 71 in all.
It has the theme, “Youth Leadership and the Future of Democracy: Harnessing the Power of Young People in Nigeria”.
Prominent personalities and representatives of foreign missions, as well as international development organisations, presented goodwill messages at the event.
They included the British High Commissioner, who was represented by the deputy High Commissioner, Gill Atkinson; Country Director, Konrad Adenuer Stiftung, Marija Peran; Country Director, UN Women to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong; Director-General, National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS); Dr Abubakar Suleiman; Executive Secretary, Nigeria Prize for Leadership, Dr Ike Neliaku; and the Founder, Albino Foundation, Ambassador Jake Epelle.
Source: radionigeria
