The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in conjunction with the European Union have held a leadership course for Nigeria’s youth leaders of political parties aimed at strengthening their capacity as they look forward to becoming key pillars of democratic policy.
The training, organised under the UNDP’s Democratic Governance for Development Project, was held on Tuesday at the Political Parties Leadership and Policy Development Centre at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Jos, the Plateau State capital.
At the event, the UNDP resident representative in Nigeria, Daouda Toure, reinstated the importance of political parties as essential pillar for a vibrant, well established and resilient democracy.
Mr Toure pointed out that since it had been identified that “no workable form of democratic pluralism operates without political parties, there are always challenges of policy, operational and capacity challenges which may limit their effectiveness in fostering and deepening democracy”.
At the end of the programme, the young party leaders are expected to be equipped with the fundamentals that will enable them derive a robust democratic engagement.
Toure urged the participants to embrace values of good governance with adequate consideration given to the cultural values, the traditional institutions as well as effective communication for sustainable democracy.
As the young political party leaders undergo the training course to equip them with skills and knowledge to engage in policy development and research, Nigerians are looking forward to youth leaders with effective pro-democratic tendencies that will strengthen the country’s democratic institutions.
