Politics
Group Tasks S’West Govs On Job Creation
A Pan-Yoruba Socio-Cultural group, Yoruba Professionals Foundation (YPF) has urged the South -West governors to prioritise job creation in the region through support for entrepreneurship, industrialisation and agriculture.
The President of the group, Mr Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye, gave the advice in a statement issued to newsmen in Lagos at the weekend.
Adeyeleye said that unless they prioritised job creation through knowledge-based entrepreneurship, innovation, industrialisation and agriculture, insecurity would continue to rise in the region.
He warned the governors of the danger of not prioritising youth unemployment, stressing that even budgeting trillions of naira on security agencies including Amotekun, police and the military could not eliminate security challenges.
“The South-West in recent time has experienced unprecedented security challenges at a scale that could pose a great threat to development and foreign direct investments.
“Kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, internet fraud, drug abuse and more recently, herdsmen attacks are all in the exponential rise. All these are not unrelated to our explosive population growth and escalating youth unemployment.
“Except there are urgent interventions and conscious strategies to engage our growing youth population in the South -West and by extension Nigeria, the nation may be heading towards the rock.
“By 2050, Nigeria is expected to become the third most populated nation in the world according to United Nations data.
“Again, according to the United Nations data, over 69 per cent of our population are below age 35 and unfortunately, the majority of crimes are perpetrated by people who fall between ages 20-35,” he said.
Adeleye said this age group was the most active age in human life, but unfortunately, according to NBS data in the Q2 of 2020, the unemployment rate among young people (15-34years) was 34.9 per cent.
He said this invariably meant that the country had over 63 per cent of the active population not having any tangible employment and over 34 per cent of them completely unemployed.
Adeleye said the government must ensure the environment was conducive for the youths to think about the needs of society and get adequate support in designing solutions for the needs and effectively marketing the solutions.
He said: “The youth are hard-wired with innovative concepts in terms of business and technologies, our generation is risk-taking, adventurous, they are always ready to snatch opportunities.
“These attributes must not be allowed to be wrongly directed as the result will be catastrophic.
“The government in the South-west should as matter of urgency, begin to look at how to empower the youths in creating jobs in green and renewable energy.
“Others are the fashion industry, block chain, smart homes, artificial intelligence, robotics, agro-allied, waste management, food processing, software engineering to mention but a few.
“Failure of which the region should be ready to spend all its budget on building prisons and providing security for the privilege,” he said.
Adeleye said the group would support interested government within the region with manpower in designing appropriate entrepreneurship-focused policy and also in the execution of the designed policies and programmes.
According to him, there is no better time to start acting than now as all hands must be on deck in the region in ensuring the fight against unemployment is won.
He said that if the governors must secure their region, they must encourage the youth to drive the economy.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit the list of candidates for the 2027 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections from Saturday, August 8, to Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The commission announced the extension in a statement issued on Saturday and signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna.
According to INEC, the decision followed appeals by political parties for additional time to complete the submission process through the dedicated online portal.
“The submission window, which according to the revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, 8th August, 2026, has been extended to Tuesday, 11th August, 2026,” the commission said.
In a a related development, INEC announced the suspension of PVC collection in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The commission said voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced Permanent Voter Cards would have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to print downloadable copies of their cards.
The electoral body explained that the deadline was necessary to enable it compile data on downloaded PVCs and produce final statistics on the total number of cards collected ahead of the election.
INEC said PVC collection in Osun commenced at the Registration Area level from July 22 to 28, 2026, but was extended to July 31 following complaints about large crowds and difficulties experienced by voters at collection centres.
The exercise subsequently moved to the local government level and ran from August 1 to 7.
The commission also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the theft of cards during attacks on the two collection centres.
It stressed that the stolen cards could not be used to vote.
INEC reassured Osun residents of its preparedness for the August 15 governorship election.
“The commission reiterates that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
“INEC reassures the people of Osun State of its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on 15th August, 2026,” the statement said.
The commission said the deadline, initially set for Saturday, 8 August, has been extended to Tuesday, 11 August 2026, following appeals from political parties for more time.
INEC also announced that the window for voters who applied to replace lost, damaged or defaced PVCs to download their replacement cards will close at midnight on Sunday, 9 August.
The move is to enable the commission compile final PVC collection figures ahead of the 15 August Osun governorship election.
INEC said replacement downloadable PVCs have also been provided to affected voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas after hoodlums carted away cards from two collection centres, stressing that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
The commission reaffirmed its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive election in Osun State.
Gov. Kefas made the remarks over the weekend at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, during the flag-off of the second phase of the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach in Taraba State, organised as part of activities marking Prof. Yilwatda’s 58th birthday.
The governor commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing to mark his birthday by providing medical care to people in need.
“What Professor Nentawe did is a powerful demonstration of what leadership should be,” Gov. Kefas said.
He assured that his administration would continue to support initiatives that complement government efforts to improve healthcare delivery and the wellbeing of residents.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Yilwatda called on Nigerian leaders to embrace the culture of giving and use their positions to touch the lives of the less privileged.
He said his decision to celebrate his 58th birthday in Taraba State was deliberate and informed by the needs of underserved communities, particularly people who face difficulties accessing healthcare because of distance and financial constraints.
According to him, the intervention followed a needs assessment and was extended across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He said the exercise commenced on August 3 at Takum General Hospital and covered the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Wukari; First Referral Hospital, Sunkani, Ardo-Kola Local Government Area; General Hospital, Bali; General Hospital, Gembu; and FMC Jalingo.
Prof. Yilwatda said the intervention provided medical services to thousands of beneficiaries, including people who required surgical procedures.
He said sustainable national development could only be achieved when strong institutions placed Nigerians at the centre of development.
“Leadership is about service,” he said, urging political and public leaders to make giving back to society an important part of their responsibilities.
He reaffirmed his commitment to serving Nigeria and its people, saying his personal vision was to make every day of his life useful to humanity.
“Every day that I live, the vision is: let it be useful to humanity,” he said.
The Taraba State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bordiya Buma, commended the initiative, saying it was consistent with the Renewed Hope agenda and efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery in the state.
Dr Buma said the second phase followed the successful completion of the first phase, which was conducted simultaneously in six local government areas, with two LGAs selected from each of the three senatorial districts.
According to him, more than 10,000 patients were attended to during the first phase, including people with medical and surgical conditions.
He disclosed that 327 general surgeries, 71 eye surgeries and 575 dental procedures were carried out during the exercise.
The commissioner expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach and thanked Prof. Yilwatda for supporting the initiative and choosing Taraba State as a beneficiary.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, also commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing Taraba State to mark his 58th birthday through a medical outreach.
Prof. Pate said making healthcare the centrepiece of the birthday celebration was significant because health affects everyone.
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