Economic reforms aim to secure youths’ future - President Tinubu

Sweeping reforms are meant to equip Nigerian youths with the right skills, opportunities and institutional supports for them to thrive in a rapidly changing global economy, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu told the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, yesterday.

The Prince, who chairs the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, was at the State House in Abuja to brief the President on the foundation’s activities taking place in Lagos.

In statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President described youths as the heart of Nigeria’s development agenda and central to the nation’s economic transformation.

“We will be participating in the G-20 this week. It is the third time Africa is hosting the G-20. And the central issue is about our youth. We need to strengthen the economy for our youths,” Onanuga quoted the President as saying.

The President said his administration’s reforms, including education financing, digital infrastructure expansion and skills development, were targeted at enabling young Nigerians to compete globally.

The statement reads: “We need to strengthen the economy for our youths. The reforms are about growth and prosperity for the nation.

“They take into full consideration our demography and the need for skills development. We are emulating best practices to explore opportunities in several areas.”

Highlighting the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NEFUND), President Tinubu stressed that no student admitted into tertiary institutions should drop out due to financial constraints.

“Our goal is to use education to drive down poverty,” he said, adding that widespread infrastructural upgrades, such as the nationwide laying of fibre-optic cables, would expand access to technology, deepen inclusion and accelerate the integration of young people into the digital economy.

The President said his administration embarked on reforms across various sectors to strengthen synergy among institutions while sustaining long-term growth.

President Tinubu noted that improving security remained a top priority of the current government, praising humanitarian organisations for supporting victims of terrorism and internal displacement.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said Nigeria’s youthful population, with a median age of 17, continued to shape the structure and focus of government reforms, aimed at expanding skills development and job creation.