In Makurdi, during a three-day capacity-building and leadership development training programme for selected student union leaders in Nigerian tertiary institutions, Asefon Sunday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Student Engagement, urged Nigerian youths to exercise patience with the current administration.
The training, focused on ‘Building responsible young leaders for national development’, had participants from the North Central region.
Emphasizing that the present administration has the best interests of youths at heart, the president’s aide advised the youth not to allow themselves to be manipulated by individuals he referred to as ‘enemies’ of the state.
He stated, “I urge the youths to have faith in President Bola Tinubu’s government because he has their well-being in mind.
“They should not fall prey to those whose beliefs and objectives are at odds with the government’s agenda.
“Individuals who have exploited the nation are seeking to manipulate youths and students into inciting unrest to undermine the government.”
Asefon explained that the training aimed to actively involve student leaders and equip them with conflict resolution skills to enhance their leadership abilities in the future.
He outlined the accomplishments of the current administration in youth development over the past year, such as providing student loans and making significant investments in education by eliminating the obligation to remit 40% of schools’ internally generated revenue to the federal government purse.
Asefon further stated, “The government’s investments in education over the past year exceed what former presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari allocated to the sector.
Adding to the discussion, Solomon Alabi, the consultant for the training, highlighted that the capacity-building was aimed at equipping student leaders with problem-solving skills rather than resorting to protests in their respective institutions.