The Provost of Kogi State College of Education, Ankpa, Dr. Paul Femi Fashagba, has called on the State Government to revive the Kogi State Youth Commission as well as fund any youth empowerment initiative.
Dr. Fashagba made the call while speaking as Guest Lecturer at the 7th Oladele John Nihi Annual Symposium and Book Launch held in Lokoja.
The Provost, who stated that the importance of youth in any society cannot be underestimated, maintained that no investment on youths who are leaders of tomorrow is in vain.
Dr. Fashagba drew the attention of participants to global models including Finland’s statutory youth councils, Scotland’s 200-member elected Youth Parliament, Rwanda’s tiered National Youth Council, and South Africa’s National Youth Development Agency.
According to him, Nigeria and Kogi State must move beyond symbolic youth appointments toward legally-backed, funded structures.
Among his key recommendations to the state government were the enactment of a Kogi State Youth Governance Act to give statutory backing to the Youth Commission, introduction of a 30 percent youth quota in state board and commission appointments, creation of a Kogi Youth Digital Governance Portal modelled on Estonia’s e-democracy platform, and mandatory civic education in the state’s secondary school curriculum.
He also urged the Federal Government to fully fund the Not Too Young To Run Act, cap political nomination fees, and establish a National Youth Parliament with 360 directly elected members, while calling on traditional rulers to formally back youth inclusion and set up Traditional Youth Advisory Councils at chiefdom level.
The submit is with the theme “Youth as Stakeholders in Governance and Democratic Development.”
The Guest Speaker devoted a significant portion of his address to commending Governor Ododo’s administration, citing the procurement of security vans and motorcycles, recruitment of community hunters, renovation of 84 Primary Healthcare Centres, reduction of the state’s debt and the appointment of young people into government positions as evidence of a youth-friendly governance approach.
Fashagba equally paid tribute to Oladele John Nihi, tracing his rise from student union leadership and the National Youth Council of Nigeria to his role as a State Peace Ambassador following the resolution of the 2016–2017 Kogi House of Assembly crisis, describing him as a model of youth-led public service.
The symposium was attended by government officials, traditional rulers, youth leaders and members of the press, with organisers describing it as part of continuing efforts to spotlight youth engagement in Kogi State’s democratic development.
