Senate President celebrates International Youth Day

President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan has felicitated the Nigerian Youth on the occasion of the International Youth Day.

Lawan in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Ola Awoniyi in Abuja on Wednesday, said that the youth deserved special attention as a vulnerable group and as the future of the nation.

He said that the day was set aside by the United Nations to draw attention to issues concerning youths at the community, national and global levels.

“The education, knowledge, technical skills and character of youths will determine the future conditions and character of the nation.

“Therefore, government must endeavour to create a system that nurtures the talents of youths and ensures their robust development as they grow into the leadership of society,” Lawan said.

He added that government owed the youth an environment that encouraged them to unleash their potential and realise their dreams.

The Senate president said that the National Assembly passed the Not-Too-Young to Run Bill, which President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law in May 2018, to avail the Nigerian Youth the opportunities to fully participate and aspire to any role in politics and governance.

He said that he was happy with the way the youth were responding to the opportunities and challenges arising from the new law.

Lawan said that the current global health pandemic had made youths even more vulnerable because of its havoc on social infrastructure, business and the economy in general.

“It is therefore imperative for us to take extraordinary measures to assuage the effects of the pandemic on the youth, especially as these concern employment and business opportunities.

“It is our responsibility as leaders to help the youth see the windows of opportunities opening in the new world order foisted on us by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lawan said.

The Senate president, however, assured Nigerian youths that the National Assembly would always promote legislation that would promote their best interests.