NULGE strengthens young workers on leadership roles

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Lagos State Chapter has intensified efforts to strengthen young workers for leadership roles.

Speaking at the Year 2026 Youth Summit on Thursday in Iba LCDA, NULGE President, Lagos Chapter, Mr Sunday Ogunfowora, said that the union strengthened the youths through sustained training, mentorship and capacity-building initiatives.

The 2-Day Year 2026 Youth Summit, which was organised by NULGE, had the theme – “A New Lagos: Youth Leading The Change”.

Ogunfowora said that the move was aimed at equipping young members with the skills and knowledge required to effectively contribute to union activities and improve service delivery across local government councils.

He said that structured learning and exposure to experienced leaders would help young workers better understand union operations and responsibilities.

According to him, youths must learn from veterans and established leaders, in order to run the union effectively and contribute meaningfully to governance within their councils.

He said that an initiative tagged, “How Well You Know Your Council”, had been introduced to familiarise young workers with different aspects of their duties and the workings of the local government system.

The president described the annual youth summit as a platform to unify young members across councils, encourage networking and promote the exchange of ideas that could shape future union policies.

He said participants would also present papers on relevant topics, adding that the presentations would be reviewed and refined through constructive criticism to support policy formulation within the union.

Ogunfowora encouraged participants to take advantage of networking opportunities and learn from one another, expressing optimism that the summit would strengthen unity, collaboration and leadership capacity among young workers in the state.

He urged young workers to build networks, exchange ideas and strengthen relationships, as part of efforts to prepare them for future leadership roles within the union and the local government.

“One of the major objectives of the gathering is to enable participants from different councils to cross-pollinate ideas and cross pollinate yourself too, build friendships that will support collaboration across the unified local government system.

“It would be unfair to attend the programme without forming professional relationships that could prove useful in your careers, as workers can be posted to different councils at any time since the local government councils are operating a unified system,” the president said.

Also speaking, the State Young Worker Representative, Mr Mustapha Sikiru, urged the youths to prove their worth to be the leaders and work together to contribution to the nation’s success.

Sikiru said that the summit was an opportunity for youth to bring their ideas, deliberate together, and take action collectively for the betterment of the local councils and Lagos State in general.

Also, Mr Tijani Saheed, the Chief Press Secretary of Iba Local Council Development Area, said that the government in the LCDA always prioritised issues concerning the youth.

Saheed, who represented the Chairman of Iba LCDA, Mr Yisa Jubril, described the chairman as a youth-centric leader, who had made young people the backbone of his administration.

He said that the chairman was committed to investing in young people as a way to secure the future.

The CPS encouraged the youth to use the summit to network for positive reasons that would move Lagos State forward.