The Federal Government said it will convene the National Youth Confab in October 2026, according to the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande.The minister disclosed this while addressing State House correspondents at a session of ‘Meet the Press,’ organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.The announcement comes nearly two years after President Bola Tinubu first pledged the initiative in his October 2024 Independence Day broadcast, as other presidential aides at the briefing defended the delay as deliberate planning, and insisted the exercise would be insulated from the political headwinds that shelved the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.Olawande said, “It is my pleasure to address you today on an initiative of great importance to the present and future of our nation: The National Youth Confab 2026. Under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Federal Government recognises that the future of Nigeria cannot be discussed without the active participation of young people.“It is against this background that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and in collaboration with youth networks and other stakeholders, will convene the National Youth Confab in October 2026.“The theme of the conference is ‘Next Gen Nigeria: Crafting Solutions, Owning the Future.’ This theme captures the central purpose of the Confab: to move young Nigerians beyond merely participating in national conversations to actively developing solutions and taking ownership of Nigeria’s future.”The minister noted that the confab is not intended to be another youth conference “where speeches are delivered, reports are produced, and nothing changes.”“It is an opportunity to listen, engage, cooperate and move from conversation to concrete action,” Olawande added.He said the Confab would run for two weeks, a virtual consultation phase followed by a physical conference in Abuja bringing together one delegate from each of the 360 federal constituencies and six diaspora delegates, anchored on six pillars spanning governance, the economy, education, technology, climate and security.Responding to a question on how this year’s Confab would avoid the fate of the 2014 National Conference, whose over 600 recommendations were shelved after a change of administration in 2015, Olawande stated, “The 12 years ago that you were mentioning, thank God, myself and Segun Dada are part of the national confab in 2014 that happened 12 years ago. We have three people in government now who are part of that confab. So we know what happened, we know where we are, and we know what we are doing.”Related NewsTinubu moves digital free zones to implementation, targets global jobsLeaving political office must not end public service — First LadyAPM faults Tinubu’s reforms, laments economic hardshipThe minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. The minister disclosed this while addressing State House correspondents at a session of ‘Meet the Press,’ organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.The announcement comes nearly two years after President Bola Tinubu first pledged the initiative in his October 2024 Independence Day broadcast, as other presidential aides at the briefing defended the delay as deliberate planning, and insisted the exercise would be insulated from the political headwinds that shelved the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.Olawande said, “It is my pleasure to address you today on an initiative of great importance to the present and future of our nation: The National Youth Confab 2026. Under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Federal Government recognises that the future of Nigeria cannot be discussed without the active participation of young people.“It is against this background that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and in collaboration with youth networks and other stakeholders, will convene the National Youth Confab in October 2026.“The theme of the conference is ‘Next Gen Nigeria: Crafting Solutions, Owning the Future.’ This theme captures the central purpose of the Confab: to move young Nigerians beyond merely participating in national conversations to actively developing solutions and taking ownership of Nigeria’s future.”The minister noted that the confab is not intended to be another youth conference “where speeches are delivered, reports are produced, and nothing changes.”“It is an opportunity to listen, engage, cooperate and move from conversation to concrete action,” Olawande added.He said the Confab would run for two weeks, a virtual consultation phase followed by a physical conference in Abuja bringing together one delegate from each of the 360 federal constituencies and six diaspora delegates, anchored on six pillars spanning governance, the economy, education, technology, climate and security.Responding to a question on how this year’s Confab would avoid the fate of the 2014 National Conference, whose over 600 recommendations were shelved after a change of administration in 2015, Olawande stated, “The 12 years ago that you were mentioning, thank God, myself and Segun Dada are part of the national confab in 2014 that happened 12 years ago. We have three people in government now who are part of that confab. So we know what happened, we know where we are, and we know what we are doing.”Related NewsTinubu moves digital free zones to implementation, targets global jobsLeaving political office must not end public service — First LadyAPM faults Tinubu’s reforms, laments economic hardshipThe minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. The announcement comes nearly two years after President Bola Tinubu first pledged the initiative in his October 2024 Independence Day broadcast, as other presidential aides at the briefing defended the delay as deliberate planning, and insisted the exercise would be insulated from the political headwinds that shelved the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.Olawande said, “It is my pleasure to address you today on an initiative of great importance to the present and future of our nation: The National Youth Confab 2026. Under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Federal Government recognises that the future of Nigeria cannot be discussed without the active participation of young people.“It is against this background that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and in collaboration with youth networks and other stakeholders, will convene the National Youth Confab in October 2026.“The theme of the conference is ‘Next Gen Nigeria: Crafting Solutions, Owning the Future.’ This theme captures the central purpose of the Confab: to move young Nigerians beyond merely participating in national conversations to actively developing solutions and taking ownership of Nigeria’s future.”The minister noted that the confab is not intended to be another youth conference “where speeches are delivered, reports are produced, and nothing changes.”“It is an opportunity to listen, engage, cooperate and move from conversation to concrete action,” Olawande added.He said the Confab would run for two weeks, a virtual consultation phase followed by a physical conference in Abuja bringing together one delegate from each of the 360 federal constituencies and six diaspora delegates, anchored on six pillars spanning governance, the economy, education, technology, climate and security.Responding to a question on how this year’s Confab would avoid the fate of the 2014 National Conference, whose over 600 recommendations were shelved after a change of administration in 2015, Olawande stated, “The 12 years ago that you were mentioning, thank God, myself and Segun Dada are part of the national confab in 2014 that happened 12 years ago. We have three people in government now who are part of that confab. So we know what happened, we know where we are, and we know what we are doing.”Related NewsTinubu moves digital free zones to implementation, targets global jobsLeaving political office must not end public service — First LadyAPM faults Tinubu’s reforms, laments economic hardshipThe minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. Olawande said, “It is my pleasure to address you today on an initiative of great importance to the present and future of our nation: The National Youth Confab 2026. Under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Federal Government recognises that the future of Nigeria cannot be discussed without the active participation of young people.“It is against this background that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and in collaboration with youth networks and other stakeholders, will convene the National Youth Confab in October 2026.“The theme of the conference is ‘Next Gen Nigeria: Crafting Solutions, Owning the Future.’ This theme captures the central purpose of the Confab: to move young Nigerians beyond merely participating in national conversations to actively developing solutions and taking ownership of Nigeria’s future.”The minister noted that the confab is not intended to be another youth conference “where speeches are delivered, reports are produced, and nothing changes.”“It is an opportunity to listen, engage, cooperate and move from conversation to concrete action,” Olawande added.He said the Confab would run for two weeks, a virtual consultation phase followed by a physical conference in Abuja bringing together one delegate from each of the 360 federal constituencies and six diaspora delegates, anchored on six pillars spanning governance, the economy, education, technology, climate and security.Responding to a question on how this year’s Confab would avoid the fate of the 2014 National Conference, whose over 600 recommendations were shelved after a change of administration in 2015, Olawande stated, “The 12 years ago that you were mentioning, thank God, myself and Segun Dada are part of the national confab in 2014 that happened 12 years ago. We have three people in government now who are part of that confab. So we know what happened, we know where we are, and we know what we are doing.”Related NewsTinubu moves digital free zones to implementation, targets global jobsLeaving political office must not end public service — First LadyAPM faults Tinubu’s reforms, laments economic hardshipThe minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. “It is against this background that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and in collaboration with youth networks and other stakeholders, will convene the National Youth Confab in October 2026.“The theme of the conference is ‘Next Gen Nigeria: Crafting Solutions, Owning the Future.’ This theme captures the central purpose of the Confab: to move young Nigerians beyond merely participating in national conversations to actively developing solutions and taking ownership of Nigeria’s future.”The minister noted that the confab is not intended to be another youth conference “where speeches are delivered, reports are produced, and nothing changes.”“It is an opportunity to listen, engage, cooperate and move from conversation to concrete action,” Olawande added.He said the Confab would run for two weeks, a virtual consultation phase followed by a physical conference in Abuja bringing together one delegate from each of the 360 federal constituencies and six diaspora delegates, anchored on six pillars spanning governance, the economy, education, technology, climate and security.Responding to a question on how this year’s Confab would avoid the fate of the 2014 National Conference, whose over 600 recommendations were shelved after a change of administration in 2015, Olawande stated, “The 12 years ago that you were mentioning, thank God, myself and Segun Dada are part of the national confab in 2014 that happened 12 years ago. We have three people in government now who are part of that confab. So we know what happened, we know where we are, and we know what we are doing.”Related NewsTinubu moves digital free zones to implementation, targets global jobsLeaving political office must not end public service — First LadyAPM faults Tinubu’s reforms, laments economic hardshipThe minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. “The theme of the conference is ‘Next Gen Nigeria: Crafting Solutions, Owning the Future.’ This theme captures the central purpose of the Confab: to move young Nigerians beyond merely participating in national conversations to actively developing solutions and taking ownership of Nigeria’s future.”The minister noted that the confab is not intended to be another youth conference “where speeches are delivered, reports are produced, and nothing changes.”“It is an opportunity to listen, engage, cooperate and move from conversation to concrete action,” Olawande added.He said the Confab would run for two weeks, a virtual consultation phase followed by a physical conference in Abuja bringing together one delegate from each of the 360 federal constituencies and six diaspora delegates, anchored on six pillars spanning governance, the economy, education, technology, climate and security.Responding to a question on how this year’s Confab would avoid the fate of the 2014 National Conference, whose over 600 recommendations were shelved after a change of administration in 2015, Olawande stated, “The 12 years ago that you were mentioning, thank God, myself and Segun Dada are part of the national confab in 2014 that happened 12 years ago. We have three people in government now who are part of that confab. So we know what happened, we know where we are, and we know what we are doing.”Related NewsTinubu moves digital free zones to implementation, targets global jobsLeaving political office must not end public service — First LadyAPM faults Tinubu’s reforms, laments economic hardshipThe minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. The minister noted that the confab is not intended to be another youth conference “where speeches are delivered, reports are produced, and nothing changes.”“It is an opportunity to listen, engage, cooperate and move from conversation to concrete action,” Olawande added.He said the Confab would run for two weeks, a virtual consultation phase followed by a physical conference in Abuja bringing together one delegate from each of the 360 federal constituencies and six diaspora delegates, anchored on six pillars spanning governance, the economy, education, technology, climate and security.Responding to a question on how this year’s Confab would avoid the fate of the 2014 National Conference, whose over 600 recommendations were shelved after a change of administration in 2015, Olawande stated, “The 12 years ago that you were mentioning, thank God, myself and Segun Dada are part of the national confab in 2014 that happened 12 years ago. We have three people in government now who are part of that confab. So we know what happened, we know where we are, and we know what we are doing.”Related NewsTinubu moves digital free zones to implementation, targets global jobsLeaving political office must not end public service — First LadyAPM faults Tinubu’s reforms, laments economic hardshipThe minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. “It is an opportunity to listen, engage, cooperate and move from conversation to concrete action,” Olawande added.He said the Confab would run for two weeks, a virtual consultation phase followed by a physical conference in Abuja bringing together one delegate from each of the 360 federal constituencies and six diaspora delegates, anchored on six pillars spanning governance, the economy, education, technology, climate and security.Responding to a question on how this year’s Confab would avoid the fate of the 2014 National Conference, whose over 600 recommendations were shelved after a change of administration in 2015, Olawande stated, “The 12 years ago that you were mentioning, thank God, myself and Segun Dada are part of the national confab in 2014 that happened 12 years ago. We have three people in government now who are part of that confab. So we know what happened, we know where we are, and we know what we are doing.”Related NewsTinubu moves digital free zones to implementation, targets global jobsLeaving political office must not end public service — First LadyAPM faults Tinubu’s reforms, laments economic hardshipThe minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. He said the Confab would run for two weeks, a virtual consultation phase followed by a physical conference in Abuja bringing together one delegate from each of the 360 federal constituencies and six diaspora delegates, anchored on six pillars spanning governance, the economy, education, technology, climate and security.Responding to a question on how this year’s Confab would avoid the fate of the 2014 National Conference, whose over 600 recommendations were shelved after a change of administration in 2015, Olawande stated, “The 12 years ago that you were mentioning, thank God, myself and Segun Dada are part of the national confab in 2014 that happened 12 years ago. We have three people in government now who are part of that confab. So we know what happened, we know where we are, and we know what we are doing.”Related NewsTinubu moves digital free zones to implementation, targets global jobsLeaving political office must not end public service — First LadyAPM faults Tinubu’s reforms, laments economic hardshipThe minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. Responding to a question on how this year’s Confab would avoid the fate of the 2014 National Conference, whose over 600 recommendations were shelved after a change of administration in 2015, Olawande stated, “The 12 years ago that you were mentioning, thank God, myself and Segun Dada are part of the national confab in 2014 that happened 12 years ago. We have three people in government now who are part of that confab. So we know what happened, we know where we are, and we know what we are doing.”Related NewsTinubu moves digital free zones to implementation, targets global jobsLeaving political office must not end public service — First LadyAPM faults Tinubu’s reforms, laments economic hardshipThe minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. The minister outlined a structural plan to distribute recommendations across all three arms of government.“We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. “We have the executive. We have the legislative; even for the first time, we have the chairman of the Youth Parliament in the National Assembly, the youngest senator, the chairman of the youth committee, everybody in the National Assembly that is part of this.“After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. “After the conference, we are going to sit down, have our task force, and put everything into three sections: what should be handled by the judiciary, what by the executive, and what by the legislature.“We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. “We want the Federal Executive Council to pass resolutions. We want the National Assembly to pass a bill on most of the resolutions that concern them. We want the judiciary to act and implement what is ironed out for them. We have given ourselves a particular time, from November, to submit this and keep moving. Enough of documentation. We are not going back to filing reports,” he added.On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. On concerns that delegate selection could be politicised ahead of the 2027 elections, Olawande argued that the process was built to exclude monetary or political influence.Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, while fielding questions from journalists about the gap between the President’s 2024 pledge and the October 2026 conference, said, “What we did was look at the past confabs, the mistakes that were made, and how to ensure we don’t repeat them. It is better to relate to the cook than to bring a quick meal that has zero quality.”He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. He said the President’s political will and his appointment of a young Minister of Youth distinguished the administration’s approach from 2014.In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Otega Ogra, also pushed back on the delay, listing programmes he said were executed in parallel during the planning period.“Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. “Within that same period, NYSC has been revamped. We have over 1.3 million more Nigerians on NELFUND. We have 650,000 Nigerians employed from 21 MSME centres across the country. About 1.3 million Nigerians have applied for TVET, and even more for 3MTT,” Ogra said.On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation. On June 16, 2025, Olawande launched the Youth Confab 2025 registration portal under the same theme, targeting 36,000 participants across the 360 federal constituencies, with a deadline later extended from June 30 to July 14, 2025, to improve grassroots representation.