Tinubu administration has expanded opportunities for youths – Minister

The Minister of Youth Development, Mr. Ayodele Olawande, has disclosed that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has expanded opportunities for the youth through interventions in education, skills, entrepreneurship, technology, and employment.

Olawande ‌made the disclosure Friday at the opening of the National Youth Confab 2026 in Abuja.

He said the federal government was committed to creating pathways that would enable young Nigerians to acquire skills, establish businesses, access employment and participate actively in national development.

The minister said the government recognised the youth as partners, innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders rather than merely beneficiaries of development.

According to him, the administration’s focus on youth development is aimed at creating an enabling environment where young Nigerians can convert their potential into sustainable opportunities.

He noted that skills acquisition, entrepreneurship, employment, innovation, leadership, sports, creative industries, technology and civic engagement were key areas requiring sustained investment.

According to him, the challenges confronting youths, including unemployment, access to finance, education, digital inclusion, and social protection, are interconnected and require coordinated action.

He said the Ministry was working with government agencies, the private sector, development partners, civil society, and youth-led organisations to expand opportunities for young Nigerians.

He said the National Youth Confab should go beyond celebrating existing initiatives to identifying practical ways of improving youth-focused programmes.

He challenged participants to develop realistic recommendations, identify institutions responsible for implementation and propose measurable actions.

“The true measure of the success of this gathering will be what happens after we leave this venue. The outcomes of the confab should translate into stronger programmes, improved coordination, greater access to opportunities, and increased accountability in implementing youth-focused initiatives,” he said.

He also urged young Nigerians to take advantage of available opportunities while embracing responsibility, ethical conduct, tolerance, national unity and peaceful coexistence.

In his remarks, the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, said Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technologies would be deployed to capture and analyse contributions from participants.

He said the system would help categorise the views of young Nigerians into thematic areas for consideration in policy development.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, said the country’s large youth population represented both a major responsibility and an opportunity for national development.

He urged young Nigerians to leverage their creativity and innovation to contribute to the country’s economic and social transformation.