Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung has announced the withdrawal of recognition for existing Youth Council Organisations and ordered that a new registration that will strictly be in line with the National Youth Policy be put in place.
He affirmed that that the age bracket of 18-35 years would be strictly enforced for eligible members.
The minister gave the directive while addressing a delegation consisting of Board of Trustees of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), some past presidents and representatives of the members of council’s management Committee, who visited him in Abuja.
Dalung explained that the directive has become imperative to restore sanity into the NYCN, which, he said, has been fragmented for some time – a development that has resulted in six people laying claims to the council’s leadership.
He flayed the way the ideals and virtues, which used to endear the organisation to the public have been eroded.
Dalung assured that the Board of Trustees, which he described as the custodian of the council, would play a big role in the new reform meant to restore the organisation back to its lost glory.
The leader of the delegation and Chairman of the NYCN Board of Trustees, Chief Macaulay Oma Azugbene, lamented a situation, whereby “the council has had to contend with leadership crisis, which has resulted in its inability to effectively play its role and ensure that the youths benefit from the dividend of democracy”.