The governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has appealed to the youths in the state in particular and the country at large to shelve the planned mass protest nationwide and embrace peace and dialogue.
Governor Abiodun said this while speaking during an engagement with the coalition of youth organizations in the state, appealing to them to be calm and not to cut the head to cure an headache.
He called on the coalition to always engage with him by putting their burning issues across, urging them to be civil, objective, and constructive.
Abiodun said, “I want to plead with you that yet again there are calls for mass protest across the country, and the first thing that agitates one’s mind is, is that the way to present your case to government?
“Is that a way of constructive and objective engagement with government by advertising and planning a protest? Is there something else behind those calling for the protest? Is this another plan by those who have tried their luck and have lost?
“Young men and women, we have no other country than this country. Let me assure you, there is no other country in the world where you can walk freely like your own country. There is no other place; we have no other country but this.
“If there are issues, let us discuss them. Let us find a way around them, let us manage them, and let us correct them. Don’t let us cut off the head to cure an headache.”
The Gateway State helmsman disclosed that his administration, since inception, has ensured that the youths were engaged by appointing some vibrant and brilliant ones into government positions.
He added that the state government under his watch also created a job portal and enacted a local content law where a large number of youths in the state have gotten employment opportunities both in the private and the public sectors till date.
Speaking further, Governor Abiodun said that he had to sign an executive order to split the Ministry of Youths and Sports into the Ministries of Sports Development and Youths Development to create an avenue for the proper development of the youth constituency and sports in the state.
He assured the youths that the Ministry of Youths Development would soon get its own commissioner, who he said would be young, brilliant, and vibrant.
He added, “I believe that it took us a bit of time to formalize the creation of that ministry. When you create a ministry, you must have a permanent secretary and other paraphernalia of office for it to be a ministry.
“Not having a Commissioner for Youths Development is not deliberate or intentional. I want to promise you that you will get that commissioner and that commissioner will be one who will be able to relate with you and also articulate the needs of your generation to the cabinet.”
Governor Abiodun further stressed that he was not bordered or concerned about the criticisms and attacks he has faced in the last few weeks on social media, saying that he would continue to work towards moving the state forward without being perturbed by his traducers.
Noting that his administration has done brilliantly well in its developmental agenda, Abiodun noted that he welcomes objective criticisms at all times.
Earlier, the state chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, Comrade Kolawole Soremi, and a Royal Youth Ambassador, Habeeb White, commended Governor Abiodun for his giant strides in the state, and urged him to appoint a Commissioner for the Ministry of Youths Development in the state.
They informed the governor that youths in the state are ready to give him the maximum support for him to succeed.
