- NYSF advocates for peaceful protests but condemns weaponization of protests for political instability.
- The NYSF said it is opposed to factors that hinder youth productivity and supports holding the government accountable.
- The forum also demanded restoration of Nigeria’s four refineries to full capacity to ensure fuel availability and affordability
The National Youth Stakeholders Forum, (NYSF), a collective body representing Nigerian youth, has declared the proposed protest an ‘aberration’.
The forum also announced its non-participation.
There have been reports of a planned youth-led protest slated to commence on August 1 over the prevalent economic hardship in the country.
Speaking at a press conference held on Saturday in Abuja, the NYSF vice chairman, Hon Chinazam Ike, said that the decision was made after careful consideration of the potential consequences of the action.
According to Ike, the NYSF is committed to promoting the interests of Nigerian youth and holding the government accountable for its actions.
Ike said the group believes that the planned protest could have been hijacked by desperate politicians seeking to create political instability.
He added that the NYSF demands the immediate restoration of the country’s four refineries to full operational capacity to ensure the availability, affordability, and sustainability of fuel.
Speaking further, the group also announced its willingness to commence negotiations with the government to improve the lot of Nigerian youth.
“In the greater interest of our dear nation we announce the unanimous decisions of all the youth stakeholders in Nigeria to declare the proposed protest an aberration and their non participation,” the NYSF said.
” This decision was not arrived at hastily, craftily or selfishly, but after careful assessment of the past, the present and the projection of the future of our beloved nation.
“We are confident that in the coming days, it will become more evident to the youth of the nation and indeed all citizens that we have acted in the best interest of our beloved nation, even as we continue to pursue the actualization of our demands with the government with whom we are willing to commence negotiation of terms to help improve the lot of the Nigerian Youth.”
Explaining the purpose of the group, Ike said” the National Youth Stakeholders Forum (NYSF) is a coalition of Nigerian youth groups united to address the challenges facing young people in the country.
He added that the NYSF aims to promote national growth and development by harnessing the energy and wisdom of youth and elders, and to empower young people to overcome systemic barriers.
Through national mobilization and strategic empowerment, the NYSF seeks to address anomalies in the system and promote rapid social and economic development in Nigeria.