Youth Stakeholders Forum in the FCT has applauded the Minister of State for FCT, Hajia Ramatu Tijani Aliyu for facilitating the appointment of young people in the recently announced Board Appointments into Departments and Agencies under her supervision in the Federal Capital Territory.
The Convener, Honorable Zakari Gambo Babale made the call after the Technical session of the Forum’s Democratic Governance working group on Tuesday at the Central Business District, Abuja.
The forum encouraged FCT Minister, Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello to also imbibe the principle of inclusion in the constitution of Board members for the remaining Departments and Agencies.
He said: “The Minister of State for FCT has re-echoed her belief in the capacity, character and competence of FCT youth by facilitating the appointment of a number of young people as Board members of different Departments and Agencies of the FCT”.
The Youth constituency in the FCT gave assurance that youth inclusion is at the epicenter of the governance process of the FCT administration.
The Forum is a platform for socio-economic and political engagement of indigenous and non-indigenous (resident) students and youth groups within the FCT with the mandate to identify, aggregate and amplify the voices of young people in the FCT.
The Forum encouraged the Minister for FCT to build on the foundation that the Minister of State has mounted by imbibing the principle of inclusion in the constitution of Board members for the remaining Departments and Agencies.
“Already we have seen from the recent appointment of Board members to some of the Departments and Agencies of the FCT that the administration is comfortable with working with young people to add 21st century value to governance in FCT, however, it is highly important to plead with the Minister of FCT to consider the appointment of more young people to fill vacant positions across the FCT Departments and Agencies”.
Babale stated that studies have shown that youth inclusion in governance is non-negotiation to achieve sustainable democracy and democracy, an agenda that the Minister of State for FCT has adopted wholeheartedly and continue to propagate as well as promote in her day to day activities. “With no doubt in our minds, we believe that the foundation that those appointments would build in the socio-economic and political lives of young people in FCT would contribute to the overall growth and development of the FCT”.
He opined that the appointments will encourage young people to collaborate and partner with the FCT administration to drive the reforms required of a 21st century capital city and its administration.
