The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, popularly called AMBO, has extolled the virtues of Nigerian youths on the occasion of 2025 International Youth Day.
Oyebamiji specifically eulogized Osun youths for their resilience, capacity, competence and hard-working spirit that have culminated into the socioeconomic development and political advancement of the state since its creation in 1991.
Oyebamiji, who is a leading aspirant of the Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress, APC in the 2026 Osun governorship election, expressed delight in the activation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda which has helped the teeming youths in no small measure.
He advocated the need for sub-national governments to domesticate lofty initiatives of the federal government to meet the aspirations and yearnings of the youths in their various states.
“Joining the teeming Youth across the globe in general, Nigeria in particular and Osun purposively in commemorating this year’s International Youth Day is a great thing for me as it provides opportunity to further celebrate the resilience, commitment, perseverance, doggedness, hardwork, astuteness and resoluteness of Nigerian most energetic and vibrant segment of our population. There’s no doubting the fact that youths are the most productive segment of the population in whom the success or otherwise of a society or nation depends, hence, the need to invest and reinvest in them in the collective efforts to further harness the nation’s potential and turnaround her fortunes across sectors of the economy.
“As a nation, we are currently fortunate to have at the helms of affairs, as a President, an advocate of all inclusive and participatory governance, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose pro-masses policies and programmes are centered on youth capacity development and advancement of women’s cause. This can be attested to in the successful implementation of Students Loan, massive youth engagement and empowerment programmes and noticeable participation in governance.
“As we mark the significant day, I want to appeal to government at sub-national levels to domesticate the noble initiatives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in their various states and local governments as part of effort to complement all the good works of the federal government. It is obvious that government at various levels have enough resources at the moment to cater for the government’s needs, hence the need to come up with people-oriented and masses-focused policies that would impact greatly in our youths in particular and citizens in general.
“I am aware that all the tertiary schools as well over 10 technical schools in the state are onboarded on the NELFUND programme of the Federal Government. I am also aware that the federal government is paying stipend of N45,000 monthly to students of federal technical schools. These are two programmes the state government of Osun could domesticate and adopt to make fund more available to students in tertiary and technical schools. Technical education is a veritable process to hasten industarilaization and development. We must pay adequate attention to it.”
Oyebamiji appealed to the state government to review downwards the high tuition fee in the state university in Ilesa, saying N1.5 million tuition fee in a public institution is unjustifiable given the harsh economy, this is just as he called on the government to recall the 1,500 teachers sacked by the Ademola Adeleke administration in 2022 so as to address the teacher’s shortage in the primary and secondary schools in Osun State.