The Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Oyo State, Seun Fakorede has disclosed that the initiative of the Assembly of Youth Parliament is to give youths the opportunity to be involved in the decision making process and contribute meaningfully to the development of the state.
The Commissioner made the disclosure on Thursday at the inauguration of the members of the 2nd Assembly of the State Youth Parliament held at House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan.
Engr. Fakorede said that the Youth Parliament is a replica of the state House of Assembly, which consists of 32 members drawn across the 32 constituencies in the state.
According to him, “the objective of the programme is to bring together our youths and prepare them for effective participation in the process of decision making especially in matters affecting them, promote good understanding of government activities and mentor them for future development.
“The present administration in Oyo State under Engr. Seyi Makinde, does recognize that our vibrant youths are stakeholders and foremost drivers of national growth and development. Oyo State government, through her agencies, such as Oyo State Agency for Youth Development, Directorate of Poverty Alleviation of Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion and Oyo State Investment and Private Partnership Agency (OYSIPA) has been in the mainstream to effectively tackle the various challenges facing our youths in holistic manner,” the Commissioner said.
While calling on the youth parliamentarians to take the opportunity to foster unity and growth of Nigeria, Fakorede charged them to eschew every act that is capable of tarnishing their image and family names or detrimental to the development of the state and nation as a whole.
“I want to use this medium to sound a note of warning to the youth parliamentarians that the state government is not ready to support any act of insubordination that will disturb the peace of the state in any way. I also wish to resound the clarion call to our dear youth that Nigeria’s unity and growth are collective responsibility and therefore, require attitudinal change among every stakeholder,” Fakorede said.
The Chairman, Oyo State House of Assembly Commission, Hon. Abdulwasi Musah and Chairman, House Committee on Youth and Sports, Hon. Fola Oyekunle, commended the effort of the Commissioner for the successful conduct of the exercise.
They charged the youth parliamentarians to understudy the conduct of the state House of Assembly and ensure that interests of youths in their respective constituencies remain their priority.
In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr. Oyedeyi, expressed that the platform is for the youth to mobilize themselves for effective participation in the political development and decision making process which will in the long run expose them to attributes of good governance in Nigeria and Oyo State in particular.
His words, “it is believed that when the youth are well informed, we would be able to inculcate in them a sense of hope, self confidence, creativity and pride in the nation’s heritage, while nurturing them to be disciplined, focused, law abiding and to have the spirit of the nation building.
“I wish to crave the indulgence of everybody here and use this medium to implore the youth to reciprocate the kind gesture of the present administration by being law abiding and support the present government towards the emancipation of the youth as they are being projected to a higher parlance,” Oyadeyi said.
Meanwhile, youth parliamentarians Fawole Israel from Ibadan South East constituency two and Oladiti Temilade Aishat from Lagelu constituency have been elected as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively for the 2nd Youth Parliament in the state.
The inauguration was attended by government functionaries including the Special Adviser on Youth and Sports, Kazeem Bolarinwa and Special Assistant on Projects, Oluwaseun Abiodun.
