… urges Tinubu to reopen border
… Highlights 11 points policy suggestion
The Coalition of Ogun State Youth Forums, have urged President Bola Tinubu’s government to address hunger and the nation’s economic hardship immediately.
The Coalition’s Spokesperson, Comrade Femi Owoeye, said this during a press conference on Wednesday, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The group while unveiling its groundbreaking proposal aimed at addressing national hardships, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reopen land borders for importation of rice and economic growth.
The group called for urgent decisions and implementation of policies to alleviate the hardships faced by Nigerians, urging the President to fulfill constitutional responsibilities.
“If the importation of rice through the land border is allowed, the high prices of food in the country will crash without an option”.
“Nigeria is grappling with a 30% inflation rate, soaring dollar rates, widespread unemployment, and escalating insecurity”, he said.
Owoeye, who was accompanied by the Coalition’s Coordinator Comrade Sodeinde Daniel, General Secretary, Kazeem Baiyewu and the legal adviser, Habeeb Whyte, also acknowledged Governor Dapo Abiodun’s efforts for Ogun State’s welfare,
but raised concerns about the lack of mechanisms to directly capture the youth constituency in state initiatives.
“It is essential to call your attention to the plight of the indigent Ogun State residents and citizens alike who are grappling with the unfavourable economic realities”.
“We receive the news of your palliative intervention with gladness, but we must point out that there is no clear cut mechanism to capture the youth constituency in various states initiatives, interventions and measures”.
“The average, self employed and out of school youth is not directly captured in the initiative, this is a huge lacuna that must be corrected immediately to avoid future complications”, he said.
The group however proposed various policy suggestions to both the Federal and Ogun State Government, including opening international borders for economic growth, incorporating non-state actors into palliative committees, providing one-year free health insurance, and establishing a food bank for equitable distribution.
Additional suggestions included subsidizing transportation, offering grants for SMEs, focusing on job creation and human capital development, promoting mechanized farming for food production, and developing policies to address security challenges.
Highlighting the communication gap, the group called for a constant youth parley from Ogun State government and proposed a one-month deadline for the government to initiate and implement these proposals for the well-being and prosperity of citizens.
