Youths
By Grace Alegba
Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, and the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Imaan Ibrahim, have joined calls for early integration of young adults into the nation’s political space to shape governance.
They spoke at the 2025 Lagos State APC Women Summit with the theme: “Arise, Aspire and Ascend”, on Thursday in Ikeja.
Ibrahim ,who delivered the keynote address, praised President Bola Tinubu’s administration for giving more opportunities to women and youths in his cabinet.
She said 60 per cent of the nation’s population are under 25 and most of them, women, urging more women and youths to prepare to make their votes count for Tinubu in 2027.
She thanked President Tinubu “for putting women at the heart of his administration”, pledging collective endorsement for the president ahead of the next general election.
The minister urged women to continue to aspire and seize opportunities of the moment provided by Tinubu’s cabinet, which has eight female ministers.
“We have never had it this good and we must make good use of this opportunity,” she said.
She commended the passion of the First Lady , Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, for the political and economic empowerment of women in the country.
The minister explained that empowerment programmes of the ministry and that of Mrs Tinubu had impacted lives and promoted economic growth.
She emphasised the need for increased female representation in politics at all levels of government.
On her part, Sanwo-Olu stressed need to mentor children early to appreciate the importance of performing their civic responsibilities.
She cited examples of parents in the North, who, she said, expose their children early to the importance of performing civic responsibilities.
Sanwo-Olu urged parents in the South-West to adopt early mentorship for youths.
She also expressed hope for mindset shift for early commitment to political participation by young people.
Sanwo-Olu said figures of the 2023 general governorship election were not encouraging as out of the seven million registered voters, only 762,000 voted in the state.
She called for collaboration of women, youths and all residents toward returning President Bola Tinubu for another term.
“Bring a minimum of 20 people, ensure that they register, go the extra mile that they register and get their voter cards,” she said.
In her welcome address, Mrs Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC) Women Leader, urged women to own and showcase the ongoing development strides of the present administration.
Okoya-Thomas said women in the party were not just participants in the democratic process, but custodians of its continuity.
“We must arise, not just in celebration, but in clarity. We must arise, not just in loyalty, but in leadership. We must arise, not just as women, but as architects of our party’s future.
“At this critical moment in Nigeria’s democratic journey, we must confront the realities,” she said
She reeled out success stories from various empowerment and humanitarian initiatives of President Tinubu’s programmes, adding that, real change takes time.
Okoya-Thomas said the positive results of the reforms of President Tinubu’s programmes were evident across all local councils in the country.
“You must trust your leadership. Under the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu, we have begun that change.
“And today, we, the women of APC, must own that change and carry its message boldly across every local government, every ward, and every home in Nigeria.
“We must aspire. To aspire means lift our eyes from today’s challenges and set our hearts on tomorrow’s possibilities. Let no young woman in this room believe she is too small to make an impact,” she said.
She praised Tinubu for increasing the number of women in government and also targeting over 4.5 million women, including Nigerians, for women’s scale-up projects.
She reeled out training and empowerment programmes by both Mrs Tinubu and wife of Vice President, Nana Shettima, saying the programmes gave skills, access, and confidence to women.
She urged the women and youths to become loud ambassadors of the achievements.
“We are not gathered here on sentiments. We are gathered on evidence. This administration has not just spoken, it has acted,” she said.
She said the summit was the the official flag off of a movement that would build a movement that would shape perception, participation, and performance across every political line.
“From our community influencers to our world chairpersons, from our market leaders, our professionals, in every sector, we will ascend together.
“We will transform our testimonies into talking points, turn our policy impact into polling booth momentum, translate governance into grassroots connection. Our commitment to 2027.
“This summit is our response to 2027. Not from a place of fear, but from a place of fact.
“We are not preparing to fight for survival. We are preparing to fight for continuity. Not because we owe it to a person, but because we owe it to the progress already begun. This summit is not just about plus.
“It is about alignment. It is about strategy. It is about translating the renewed hope agenda into a women-led mobilization framework,” she said.
She urged youths to get registered and vote Tinubu and APC overwhelmingly in 2027.
Panelists at the event urged women to break cultural norms and barriers to aspire for political offices, while urging youths to register, engage and participate fully in real elections not social media.
They also explained the benefits of youths embracing politics, participation and mentorship towards Nigeria’s growth. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Buhari Bolaji
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