by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
Plateau Youth Council has expressed concerns regarding the lack of youth inclusion in Nigerian governance and the need for collaborative policy validation.
Chairman of the Plateau State Youth Council, Panan Gongden Dapar, disclosed this on Tuesday at the Azi Nyako Youth Center, Jos, during the Validation workshop organized by the Plateau Youth Council (PYC), in collaboration with Youth Initiative Against Violence and Human Rights Abuse (YIAVHA).
The workshop was to review and validate the developed Plateau Youth Charter of Demand for Peace and Inclusive Governance that promotes meaningful youth participation, in peace-building, inclusive governance, democratic participation, and economic empowerment in Plateau State.
The workshop highlighted a “significant gap” in the current Nigerian political landscape where the youth population is largely excluded from meaningful decision-making processes.
He noted that young people are often utilized temporarily by those in power without being granted long-term influence or inclusion in the governance structure.
The Chairman emphasized the importance of the current program as an initiative to foster youth involvement in government agendas, and suggested that the Validation processes must involve young people directly.
While the government should provide clear agendas for youth to work with, collaborative efforts should ensure that policy adoption is favorable to both young citizens and the society at large.
The workshop also discussed the Plateau Youth Council’s development of key performance indicators to hold politicians accountable for youth-related commitments.
The PYC Document Purpose: The primary objective is to validate a document authored by the PYC that moves the organization beyond mere ‘mobilization’ towards becoming a platform for deliberate political conversation.
“This document aims to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to assess political leaders and parties by the 2031 elections.”
The strategic goal is: Shaping the political conversation surrounding the 2027 elections, ensuring young people, women, and persons with special needs are integrated into policy-making rather than being treated as afterthoughts, and providing a framework for politicians to be held accountable to youth-led agendas.
He also emphasized that the PYC must present concrete interests to politicians to prevent them from using meetings as distractions. By publishing this agenda early, the PYC intends to influence the development of party manifestos before they are finalized.
“The document emphasizes that the involvement of women, young people, and persons with special needs is a necessity, rather than an afterthought. He also highlighted the importance of hearing the unique perspectives and challenges of young women, and encouraged participants to speak in any language they feel comfortable using to ensure their thoughts are truly captured.
Also, the Director of YIAVHA, Jacob Pwakim, said the introduction is a new strategic document developed by the Plateau Youth Council (PYC), designed to shape political discourse in Plateau State.
According to him, “This document establishes specific key performance indicators for politicians to follow, if they wish to demonstrate active engagement with young people.”
He explained that the key features of the initiative include: “The establishment of measurable benchmarks for political candidates, a post-election assessment process where PYC will evaluate both individual politicians and their respective political parties, based on these indicators, and to providing a framework that allows politicians to align their agendas with the actual needs of the Plateau community.”
While clarifying the financial support structure behind this activity, he noted that it is part of a broader effort to empower youth organizations rather than just observing their inactivity.
According to him, the activity is supported under the Building Bridges for Peace project from Insight to Action, with the primary funding provided by Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRING) and additional foreign donations are provided by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Program.