The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Ebonyi State Chapter, on Thursday flagged off the 2026 International Youth Week celebration with a call for increased investments in youth empowerment for sustainable development.
At the ceremony held at the Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium, Abakiliki, the Chairman of NYCN in Ebonyi State, Comrade Douglas Ochishi, said collaboration between governments, development partners and other stakeholders in youth development would leverage national progress.
He said this year’s celebration themed: “Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Future,” underscores the need to equip young people with the education, skills and opportunities required to drive socio-economic development.
Ochishi described Nigeria’s youthful population as a national asset capable of transforming the country if adequately empowered through quality education, entrepreneurship, digital innovation, agriculture, sports and leadership development.
“This year’s theme challenges every stakeholder to move beyond promises to measurable actions that will secure a sustainable future for Nigerian youths.
“Youth empowerment is for those who have prepared themselves. We must prepare our minds, acquire relevant skills and position ourselves because opportunities can come at any time,” he said.
The Commissioner for Youth Development and Sports, Mr Chidi Onyia, who represented Governor Francis Nwifuru, said the present administration has shown commitment to youth development through appointments, scholarship programmes and empowerment initiatives.
He noted that young people now occupy a significant percentage of political appointments in the state and challenged beneficiaries of government programmes to justify the confidence reposed in them.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the occasion and Commander of the Nigeria Forest Security Service, Ebonyi State Command, Commander Larry Igwe, commended the NYCN leadership for revitalising youth activities in the state.
The Chaplain of the Ebonyi State Government House, Rev. Fr. Jude Agama, before declaring the event open with prayers, encouraged young people to begin taking leadership responsibilities immediately rather than waiting for the future.
“We have always been told that the youth are the leaders of tomorrow. We pray that it will no longer be tomorrow but today. Nigeria needs more young people to rise and take responsibility,” the cleric said.
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Gender-Based Violence, Mary-Ann Nkwegu, who delivered a lecture on gender-based violence, called on parents and communities to raise boys with values of respect, empathy and accountability.
On health awareness, the Chief Executive Officer of Nkwegu Medical Specialist Hospital, Dr Ogechi Nkwegu, warned that hypertension was increasingly affecting young people and urged participants to take advantage of the free medical screening offered during the event.
She described hypertension as a “silent killer” because many sufferers show no symptoms until serious complications such as stroke, kidney failure or heart disease develop.
