The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare has said that there is no monopoly of the number of umbrella youth organizations the Ministry is prepared to work with to actualize its programmes and initiatives, even as President Muhammadu Buhari and Dare have been commended over the initiative.
Dare made the assertion in his office in Abuja on Monday, 27 July, 2020 while receiving the leadership of the Nigerian Youth Congress (NYC) during a courtesy visit to thank the Minister and President Buhari for the establishment of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF).
The Minister said, “Inasmuch as having a single umbrella body for the Nigerian Youth would be beautiful, we have also learnt a couple of lessons that by our size it might not be possible to achieve what we want to achieve through one single congress. But also, we have identified two or three such groups that are strong. We can always have them around the table to drive that process so there is no monopoly.
Founder of NYC, Yakubu Shendam expressed the group’s appreciation to the Minister and President Muhammadu Buhari for establishing NYIF, while noting that the Fund is a first of its kind with potentials for reducing youth unemployment.
Shendam said NYC offers an alternative for government to diversify the platforms it has for reaching Nigerian youth. “We are ready as a group to work with you. We are not here to push anybody away; we are rather here to consolidate on the interaction that the Ministry is already having with the youth,” he explained.
