Kaduna Hosts APC Youth Commissioners’ Summit as Gov. Sani Champions Youth-Driven Transformation
By Hussaina Yakubu
August 07, 2025
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, on Thursday, declared open the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) Quarterly Meeting of Honourable Commissioners for Youth and Sports in APC-governed states, calling for a renewed national commitment to youth focused governance.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, Govern said Kaduna was not only honoured to host the convergence, but stood as a model of inclusion, innovation, and sustainable youth development.
“It is with immense joy that we welcome you all to this strategic gathering. This is more than a policy roundtable. It is a crucible for recalibrating the youth agenda and proving that the APC is deliberate about building its future,” he stated.
According to the governor, Kaduna has made considerable progress in advancing youth empowerment, citing programmes like the Kaduna Youth Economic Empowerment Programme (K-YEEP), which has supported over 6,000 startups in the last 18 months.
He also highlighted the Kaduna TechHUBs, where youths are trained in frontier technologies like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, blockchain, and robotics“not just for jobs, but for the industries of tomorrow.”
In sports development, Governor Sani said the state had repositioned itself as a national hub, with 18 community sports centres renovated, grassroots leagues revived, and professional athletes supported through structured exposure, training, and infrastructure investment.
He emphasised the importance of governance inclusion, pointing to the Kaduna Youth Advisory Council as a model for mainstreaming young voices into decision-making and policy design.
Governor Sani commended the PGF Secretariat for what he called “pioneering state documentation tools,” including daily updates, multilingual reports, and birthday development features for APC governors, which he described as archives of political accountability.
“The PGF Youth Commissioners’ Meeting must rise from Kaduna with a common youth development framework one that harmonises digital skills, vocational training, civic engagement, sports, mental health, and entrepreneurship,” he declared.
He proposed a five point action plan, including cross-state mentorship programmes, APC Youth Centres of Excellence, collaborative sporting tournaments, a unified digital youth platform, and peer-to-peer learning frameworks.
Also speaking at the event, Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum, Mr. Folorunso Aluko, described the meeting as “a strategic checkpoint in our shared journey to a youth-focused governance model.”
Aluko lauded the leadership of Governor Uba Sani, noting that Kaduna’s investment in security, education, infrastructure, and technology was a practical expression of APC’s commitment to inclusive governance.
“Governor Sani is not just a host; he is a beacon of focused, people centred leadership.
Under his watch, Kaduna has become a benchmark for urban renewal, community security, and youth employment,” he stated.
He also underscored the broader role of the PGF as “a movement of ideals” and “a vanguard of transformation,” praising the commitment of APC governors to policy coherence, inter-state synergy, and strategic youth inclusion.
In a separate interview, Jigawa State Commissioner for Information, Youth, Sports, and Culture, Mr. Sagir Musa Ahmed, who also chairs the APC Youth Commissioners’ Forum, said the meeting aimed to ensure unity, consistency, and standardisation across youth programmes in APC states.
“We’re here for a very important mission to develop a common front for youth engagement. We are determined to bring back ideas that we can replicate across our states, especially around employment and development,” he said.
According to him, the forum, initially conceived in Abuja, has become a platform to ensure young people across APC states benefit from structured, aligned, and impactful policies.
“Youth are the mirror through which society reflects itself. As policymakers, we must guide them to remain relevant and productive, particularly in this age of social media and globalisation,” Ahmed noted.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports ,the meeting, which drew Commissioners for Youth and Sports from all 23 APC governed states, is expected to produce a communiqué outlining new policy commitments, development benchmarks, and timelines for execution.
NAN further reports thats as deliberations continue in Kaduna, participants are optimistic that the PGF Youth Commissioners’ Forum will set a new national benchmark for youth engagement, capacity building, and inter state innovation across party lines.
(NAN)