By ABIODUN ABEGUNDE

The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Lagos State chapter, says it will establish a 24-hour youth empowerment hub.

The Chairman, NYCN, Lagos State chapter, Mr Ibrahim Adigun, said this at the maiden edition of the Lagos Youth Development Institute (LYDI) media parley on Thursday in Lagos.

Adigun described the 24-hour ” mega empowerment hub” as a part of broader efforts to complement the various programmes by local councils and senators in Lagos State.

He said the media parley was organised to unveil the activities of the institute to Lagosians.

He said: “Do not forget that last year we started the LYDI and we had the first cohort, the second cohort is happening this year and we are working hard to bring on board more partners for high level collaboration.

“The essence of coming up with the LYDI is to support the effort of the state governor’s THEMES agenda of ensuring that no one is left behind.”

Adigun noted that Lagos State has different platforms for youth development.

He added that the LYDI was created for leadership, youth empowerment, career developmental skills and entrepreneurship.

Also speaking, Dr Jamiu Ademosu, the Director-General, LYDI, said the institute which was created last year under the leadership of IbrahimAdigun had recorded remarkable impacts.

Ademosu said the institute was designed to empower Lagos residents and develop the youth through its programmes.

He noted that the development of every nation rests on the shoulders of young people.

“This implies that if young people are well developed, it will reciprocate in the entire community,” he said.

He said the institute organised a complete transformational fellowship programme in 2025 where over 600 young people applied, while 30 were short listed across the three senatorial districts.

Ademosu also said that the institute partnered with different organisations to train over 600 young people in technical skills such as software engineering, data science, product science among other digital skills.

“This year, the institute would soon begin its second cohort which has received over 700 applications from youths in Lagos State.

“All the applications are in our pool and this we see as our responsibility to add value to them.

“Forty of the applicants will be short listed and the remaining will not be discarded but the institute will be leveraging on partnership and opportunities to reach out to them.

“LYDI is for the youth, and will be run by the youth. The institute will come up with an innovation lab that will come up with several solutions to enhance and address sustainable development goals,” he said.

Ademosu expressed confidence that the partnership would lead to international exposure for young people.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NYCN, Lagos State Chapter, is actively engaged in grassroots empowerment. (NAN)

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