*It is time to take over leadership, Reps’ Deputy speaker charges youths
NO fewer than 170 youths development organisations across the country are to receive the sum of $1.2 million across the country.
The package, which came through a private arrangement, initiated by LEAP Africa, with support from MacArthur Foundation and Ford Foundation, is aimed at strengthening the youth population to contribute meaningfully to the country’s development.
Executive Director, LEAP Africa, Keyinde Ayeni, disclosed this at the unveiling of the Nigerian Youths Futures Fund (NYFF), in Abuja, saying that the objective was to raise enough funds to support youth activism for national development.
She said: “We have seen how young people are speaking up on issues on policies and programmes. We are asking for more visibility and opportunities for them.
“We believe that this will facilitate good governance further in the society. In this grant, we are giving about $1.2 million to 170 organisations, and we will give this grant for the next 12 months. We have three categories of the grants – the individual, catalysts and development categories. They will undergo a grant management system.”
Meanwhile, House of Representatives’ Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who unveiled the programme, noted: “The grants, awarded through NYFF, are not mere allocation of resources, but the ignition of a movement that will shape the Nigeria we desire.”
