The Nigerian Youth Congress (NYC), the apex youth organisation in Nigeria, has called on governments and other stakeholders to aim for inclusivity and youth empowerment.

This was contained in the 2025 Independence Day celebration speech delivered by its President, Engr. Jethro Annum, in Abuja, with the theme; Hope for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (Hope DEY).

In his speech, Engr. Jethro hailed Nigeria’s “65 years of unbreakable bond of brotherhood”, adding that, “the challenges of the past should inspire us, but must not define us as a nation. The difficulty of today should rather empower us and not destroy us and the hope for better country should energize us rather than leading us to despair.

“NYC recognises the challenges bideveling our dear country today, and in keeping with the mandate of the Congress, we are calling on all young Nigerians to persevere in hope, mindful of the fact that the task of nation building is a onerous, requiring patience, sacrifice and the collective efforts of all citizens in a patriotic manner.

“The emergence of several youth friendly initiatives and programs under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not only commendable but pragmatic. While marginal progress is obvious, more needs to be done to tackle unemployment, underemployment and to guarantee equity and inclusion especially for Nigeria youths”.

The Council equally charged Nigerian youths and leaders to “harness the potentials of our national diversity as a source of strength, a prerequisite for social justice, equity and inclusion in a country that’s grappling with issues of cohesion and fairness”.

According to Engr. Jethro, “the FG must seek indepth collaboration with reputable youth organizations with the data, structure and ability to translate policies into actions, by developing cutting age solutions to 21st century challenges and opportunities. For instance, the 250,000 free registration for MSME’s must be handled by experts for effectiveness”

He concluded by calling on Nigerian youths “to set aside tribal and religious differences to unite in the struggle to build a great nation that can proudly be bequeath to our children with the consciousness that the task of building the country is exclusively ours.”