Dare Babalola
The Federal Government, in collaboration with the Lagos State Government, will on Monday, April 13, 2026, convene the first-ever Abuja Dialogue on Youth Leadership, a high-level engagement aimed at placing young Nigerians at the centre of national development discussions.
The initiative, issued in a statement on Friday by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), said the Dialogue is designed to reposition youth leadership as a strategic pillar for national transformation.
According to the statement, the event will hold in Abuja under the theme, “Scaling Excellence: Youth Leadership as Strategic Infrastructure for National Transformation,” and will serve as a precursor to the Lagos Leadership Summit.
The Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, who announced the initiative during a press briefing in Abuja, said the Dialogue reflects a deliberate shift from rhetorical inclusion of young people to structured leadership development.
He stressed that youth empowerment must be anchored on responsibility, competence and institutional preparation rather than sentiment.
Hadejia said, “Central element of this initiative is the recognition that youth leadership and development must move beyond the language of inclusion and toward a more structured understanding of responsibility.
“While inclusion provides access, responsibility requires preparation, and it is this preparation that ultimately determines whether young people are able to contribute meaningfully within systems that demand competence, discipline, and accountability.”
He further explained that the Dialogue will focus on practical mechanisms for leadership development, including structured training, institutional exposure, mentorship, and performance evaluation.
“The Abuja Dialogue will therefore focus on identifying the mechanisms through which this preparation can be achieved, including the role of structured training, institutional exposure, mentorship, and performance evaluation in building leadership capacity over time,” he added.
Hadejia noted that the Office of the Vice President recognises the need for broad collaboration with institutions committed to leadership development across different levels, describing the partnership as a shared national responsibility.
The Executive Secretary of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, Ayisat Agbaje-Okunade, also welcomed the initiative, describing it as a platform to scale youth development efforts from fragmented interventions to a structured national system.
She said the Academy, established by the Lagos State Government under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expanded its vision beyond the state and is now contributing to national youth development discourse.
Agbaje-Okunade explained that the Dialogue will bring together stakeholders to design systems that move youth empowerment “from being palliative to being systematic,” adding that it will help institutionalise sustainable youth development frameworks in Nigeria.
The Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, also reaffirmed the commitment of both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima to youth empowerment and innovation-driven governance.
He noted that the Dialogue has received strong endorsement from both the Lagos State Government and the Office of the Vice President, stressing the need for sustained national attention on youth development initiatives.
The statement added that the forthcoming engagement is expected to strengthen policy coordination and promote long-term investment in youth leadership as a driver of national transformation.
