Lagos State Government is to renovate all youth centres in Badagry as a strategy to engage youths at the grassroots.
Mr Oluomo Afonja, Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Youth Development gave the assurance on Monday, 21 December, 2020 during an inspection of youth centres in Badagry.
“The basic part of our quest is to see how we can engage the youth at the grassroots more.
“Part of the way we think we can engage the youth is when youth centres we have in each of the local governments and local council development areas are well in place.
“The way forward is to get these places rehabilitated.
“Gov. Sanwo-Olu is eager to see all our Youth centres back to it appropriate state inline with the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda #ForAGreaterLagos.
“As the SSA and a youth development ambassador, I will join effort with my Commissioner, Mr. Segun Dawodu to ensure quick intervention.
“Having gone round to see the centres, what I saw here is not encouraging. We are going to put all hands together and restore those centres,” he said.
Afonja said that state government would start rehabilitation of the centres by 2021.
The Chairman of Badagry Local Government, Mr Olusegun Onilude, said at the event that some youth centres were abandoned.
He said that the local government had wanted to make use of one of the centres but could not.
“Badagry Local Government had written to the youth ministry asking it to cede the centre to the local government because that time we were in dire need of it for a vocational centre, but it made us knows that it had plans for it.
“I want to believe that part of the plan is what brought Afonja to Badagry today,” he said.
Reports state that Afonja inspected the Lagos State Youth Centre at Vetho, National Youth Development Centre at Ajara, and Youth and Social Development Centre on Topo Road, Badagry.
