Kogi State Government has promise to promote collaboration with critical stakeholders and youth organisations to foster collective action and building a network of young changemakers across the state.
The State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Monday Anyebe, disclosed this while declaring open, a two-day Youth Social Accountability Lab Training for Young Change Makers in Lokoja the State capital.
The training was organized by Youth Development and Empowerment Initiative (LYDEI) under the auspices of the Youth Upright Accountability Project (YUA-P) with support from LEAP Africa and Nigeria Youth Futures Fund.
According to him, Kogi state government had taken due recognition of the fact that development of the state remained intrinsically linked to the engagement and empowerment of the young people that represented appreciable percent of the population of the state.
The Commissioner said that the Youth Ministry was actively seeking to cultivate a vibrant youth sector in Kogi State, saying “That is why we are delighted to support the Youth Upright Accountability Project (YUA-P), being implemented by the Youth Development and Empowerment Initiative (LYDEI).
“This training is a crucial step in ensuring that our youths are not just passive beneficiaries of government programmes but active participants in shaping policies and holding leaders accountable” he said.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Executive Director, LYDEI, Aminu Okwutepa, pointed out that the Youth Social Accountability Lab Training for Young Changemakers was a call for action and a beacon of hope, noting that the training was designed to equip the young change makers with the skills and knowledge needed for active participation in governance processes.
He noted that one of the key objectives of the training was to build the capacity of Youths to promote accountability and Open Governance through Budget Tracking and Monitoring of implementation at the state and local governments’ levels.
While reeling out the importance of cultivating a personal culture of accountability and transparency among the Youths as essential for fostering ethical governance, the Executive Director, stated that the training was aimed at developing strategic leadership, project management, resource mobilization, and proposal writing skills among the youths.
Also speaking at the occasion, a member of Kogi State House of Assembly Hon. Asema Baba Haruna, commended organisers of the training and urged the youths to acquire the knowledge and scale it down to the rural areas.
Haruna member representing Adavi Constituency, also urged the youths to always critically plan towards attaining meaningful positions to enable them lead, assuring that the Assembly would always give priority attention to issues that concern youths, their lives and ambitions.
In his goodwill message, Chairman, Kogi State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Seidu Ademu Haruna said LYDEI shared common mandate with the Union in holding leaders accountable.
He urged the participants to hold duty bearers accountable just as he encouraged the them to make maximum use of the training to impact their communities and organisations.