A non-governmental organisation, Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID) has appealed to Kogi state government to implement the Kogi Youth Development Commission Law to better the lives of youths in the state.
Executive director of the NGO, Halima Sadiq, who made the appeal during a peace -walk to commemorate the 2020 International Peace Day in Lokoja on Monday, said the implementation and operationalisation of the commission would go a long way in reducing the vulnerability of youths to social vices and enhance development.
According to her, “There is need for the operationalisation and implementation of the law to enable youths in the state move to the next level of development.”
“The provision of the law upholds entrepreneurship opportunities as a strategy for keeping young men and women in Kogi state engaged and away from the influence of extremist groups. Hence, our call to the governor of Kogi state for the speedy implementation of the law, which was signed since April 2019.
“No foreign donor will come to the aid of Kogi youth without the commission in place and that was why we strove hard to ensure that the bill was passed into law and assented to by the state governor.”
The peace-walk was organised by the ActionAid Nigeria in partnership with PIBCID and the state government was held in 12 communities of the state with the global theme ‘Shaping Peace Together”.
The PIBCID executive director said this year’s global peace day was marked to emphasizse the need for people to be devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace and to emphasis peaceful coexistence by spreading messages of unity, hope and empathy.
