President Muhammadu Buhari has praised the contributions of Nigerian youths on the outcome of the 2015 elections.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday during the event to mark the 2015 International Youth Day, the President commended Nigerian youths for the significant role they played in making the 2015 elections “a model for democratic governance in Africa.”
The President also noted that “the nation’s economic growth has not translated into commensurate and improved social outcomes, especially for our 60 million young people who make up the majority of the population”.
President Buhari added that the “educational attainment by Nigerian youth has increased significantly in the last decade but the relevance of curricula, quality of education and skills required to meet the demands of the job market still remains a challenge for the country”.
He assured Nigerian youth that his administration is poised to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive so as to ensure greater opportunities for jobs to be created for young people.
President Buhari said that his government was also determined to provide adequate infrastructure to boost the ability of “our job creation institutions to increase opportunities for our young people.”
Apart from paying special attention to the growth of small and medium scale enterprises, the President said that his administration would also explore the option of boosting intervention funds to encourage domestic industrialization and manufacturing.
President Buhari reaffirmed the commitment of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration to fulfilling its campaign promises to Nigerian youth.
“Change for us is not a mere political slogan, but the beginning of a new era desired by the majority of Nigerians”, he added.