Sixteen youths selected as the first set of Kashim Ibrahim Fellows have commenced their one year leadership training in Kaduna.
The Kashim Ibrahim Fellows Programme is a leadership training platform for youths introduced by the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.
According to the Programme Administrator, Zainab Mohammed, the fellows will go through a one-year training in public service by working at the heart of government, will also be engaged in reflection, lectures and seminars on leadership.
Mohammed said Governor Nasir El-Rufai introduced the fellowship programme in February 2018, as a concrete contribution to providing young people a pathway to leadership.
The fellows have been welcomed at an opening ceremony in Kaduna by Malam Nasir El-Rufai and members of the governing board of the Kashim Ibrahim Ibrahim Fellowship, led by Mr. Hakeem Bello-Osagie.
Speaking at a welcome dinner for the fellows held in Kaduna, Chairman Governing board of the Fellowship, Bello-Osagie, commended El-Rufai for his efforts to develop progressive leadership.
Bello-Osagie said: “I will like to congratulate Governor Nasir El-rufai on this very impressive efforts to develop a progressive leadership that will be trained to be exposed, to cut across religious lines, ethnic lines, that will understand modern leadership, a leadership that cut across the country and I have to congratulate him in this move”.
He added that, “Today we had our second board meeting, 16 fellows have been appointed, they will be exposed to seminars, work experience in important agencies within Kaduna State and at the end of the year, they will be a generation of leaders that we believe will make a great impact on the country. We have seen another initiative, it is the Obama initiative to produce leaders, young leaders all over the world, in Africa in particular and this is in a sense our response at this local level for us to have new generation of leaders for Nigeria.”