A bill seeking the establishment of a National Youth Welfare Scheme Fund scaled second reading in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The bill was co-sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Makki Yalleman, both members of the All Progressives Congress.
Leading debate on the bill, Yalleman said the Fund when established will manage and coordinate youth’s welfare services to reduce challenges in governance and security in the country and other related matters.
He added, “The general intention of this bill is to cater for the welfare of the unemployed youth to reduce the challenges of governance and security issues in the country.”
While arguing in favour of prioritising the well-being of the larger population of youth in the country, he added that young Nigerians are ever vibrant, always energetic, inquisitive, adventurous, sociable, risk takers and identity seekers; all these make them to be restive especially when they become dissatisfied with the state of affairs.
He said, “Where there is no meaningful or positive engagement of the excessive strength and energy of young men and women for creative and constructive works, the result is the abuse of these potentials in idol thoughts and destructive actions that culminate into youth restiveness.
“Without sugarcoating the situation, our streets are today littered with unengaged youth who are easily and negatively influenced by all manner of people.
“For our female sisters, many of them are on the streets hawking different items for survival when they ordinarily should be in school or engaged with some skills.
“In the process, many of them are molested by some depraved adults. Many of our male youth are being introduced and initiated into cultism and different types of terrorist groups leading to street violence, bomb blasts, insecurity and kidnapping in our society.”
Yalleman who represents Madori/Kaugama Federal Constituency, Jigawa State, noted that governance becomes difficult when a large number of youths are restive and insecurity will be on the rise. He noted that any responsible government must put in place policies that will arrest the menace of unemployment and out-of-school problems in Nigeria.
He said, “On our part as the representative of the people, our core duty in this regard is to take a legislative action that will ensure that the wellbeing of our youth is taken seriously and that is the gravamen of this bill.”
He explained that Part IV of the proposed bill, particularly Section 7 Subsection 1 paragraph c) provides that the fund shall be responsible for working out the possible required monetary details that will enhance the welfare of the youth, and working out modalities needed to identify the youth that will benefit from the Fund, when established.
Lawmakers present at the Green Chamber unanimously voted in support of the bill when the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas who presided over the plenary session, subjected it to a voice vote.