As the world marks International Youth Day 2025, Nigeria has launched the YOUT-E-LIISE Nigeria initiative, a bold plan to mobilise eight million young

Nigerians across 8,000 wards to drive national values orientation, economic participation, and inclusive democracy.
The programme, described as historic in scale, aims to position youth as catalysts for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while strengthening democratic dividends at the grassroots.

National Programme Director of YOUT-E-LIISE Nigeria, Mr. Victor Wilkinson Agih, said in a statement on Monday that the initiative seeks to make young Nigerians the heartbeat of grassroots governance, climate justice, innovation, and national unity.
“In every ward, in every voice, the spirit of Renewed Hope begins to echo,” he said.

Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Ireti Heebah Kingibe, noted that the initiative would embed climate consciousness and local innovation in Nigeria’s national identity.
“YOUT-E-LIISE is perfectly aligned with Nigeria’s green recovery and NDC targets. It offers a platform for the next generation to not just inherit the climate challenge, but to lead its solution—locally and inclusively,” she said.

South-South Zonal Programme Coordinator, Hezikiah Sila Olu, described the launch as a lifeline for young people in every local government area.
“Through YOUT-E-LIISE, we finally have structured platforms to speak, to build, and to lead. We are not just the future — we are finally becoming the present,” he said.

By rooting its activities in all 8,000 wards, the initiative seeks to ensure youth voices are not only heard but integrated into decision-making, local service delivery, and sustainable development.

It also plans to catalyse over 80,000 youth-led micro-projects in areas including climate adaptation, education equity, local enterprise development, clean water access, gender justice, and peacebuilding — all directly contributing to the SDGs at the grassroots.