Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola has unveiled a youth policy document for the southwest Nigeria state.
The unveiling, which took place in Osogbo, the state capital, saw Oyetola launching the document to create a pathway for youth empowerment in the state.
According to the Governor, the document was developed to empower young people in the state and put them at the centre of its development.
Oyetola said that the document provided specific and appropriate policy guidelines to safeguard the potentials of Osun youth, thereby fast tracking its actualisation.
“The Osun Youth Policy contains commitment by government, the youth of the state and society in pursuance of youth development and growth. The policy provides a crucial framework for guiding the state’s approach to ensure that large number of youths residing in the state is provided with high quality of life.”
“To further demonstrate our commitment to developing our youth, we have developed a Youth Policy christened the 4 Es: Youth Empowerment, Youth Engagement, YouthEntrepreneurship and Youth Education”.
“The Osun Youth play a key role in our development efforts, hence, our administration has enunciated a clear policy framework to ensure that an enabling environment is created for them to maximally realise their creative and productive potential,” he explained.
Speaker of Osun state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye, in his submission, urged the state government to submit the document to the House for consideration as legislation, so that subsequent administrations in the state would follow it as a matter of law.
The State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Hon. Yemi Lawal, on his part, described the period of youth as very critical–a time of life that must be well managed in order to get the best out of it.
“With this in mind, the Government of Osun State has been striving to ensure that the youth of the State are given various opportunities through education and empowerment programmes at all levels,” he said.
Honourable Lawal lauded Governor Oyetola’s government for continually seeking to improve the socio-economic and general well being of young people in the State; and urged all Osun youths to key into the initiative.
The event was witnessed by the state Deputy Governor, Benedict Alabi, wife of the governor, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola, traditional rulers and youth groups in the state as well as other eminent personalities.
Lateefah Ibrahim
