The chairman Board of Trustees, Youngstars Development Initiative, Bulus Dabit, has said that young people should have the right to participate in decision making to achieve justice and influence outcomes.
He made the remark at the Nigerian undergraduate debate to commemorate the 2017 International Anti-corruption Day in Abuja.
He said the Nigerian polity has continually resisted the creation of a space for the youth to participate in national discourse and development and that the initiative has allowed undergraduate youth to “engage policies that stand on their way towards actualizing themselves” through debates.
Dabit said the involvement of youth in decision making would enable them determine their future and have control over decisions affecting their lives.
Debbie Palmer of the Department for International Development (DFID) said the youth have a critical role to play in the fight against corruption and that the UK Government was committed to supporting Nigeria to tackle corruption in all its various forms.
Palmer said an independent report estimated that up to USD$32 billion was lost to corruption under the previous government.
The Executive Director of the initiative, Kingsley Bangwell, said the debate was an annual event that involved the youth in the fight against corruption.
Team Quora and Team Dunamis of the University of Ibadan won the first prize of N500,000 and second prize of N300,000 respectively while Team Roar of the University of Jos won the third prize of N200,000.
