The Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Youth Development and Chairman of the Central Planning Committee (CPC) of the National Youth Confab 2026, Dr Maryam Ismalia Keshinro has commended youths from the South-East region for their impressive participation in the first day of the Confab’s virtual engagement.
Keshinro gave the commendation on Wednesday 7th October 2026 during an inspection visit to the Virtual Confab Situation Room at the headquarters of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Abuja.
She was toured by the Sub Committee Chairman on Contacts and Mobilization National Youth Confab and the Director General, Committee of Youth on Mobilization and Sensitization (CYMS), Chief Obinna Nwaka.
The visit afforded her great opportunity to interact and inspect activities at the Situation Room, where members of the Contacts and Mobilization Sub-Committee deployed as ad-hoc officers saddled with responsibility of coordinating, monitoring and facilitating the virtual sessions.
In a statement issued by CYMS Media Officer, Hosea Parah, Keshinro described the visit as a morale booster for the officers working behind the scenes to ensure the success of the virtual engagement.
She said the presence of other officials shall continue to demonstrate the Federal Government’s commitment to delivering an inclusive and successful National Youth Confab that gives young Nigerians a platform to contribute directly to the national development conversation.
Keshinro particularly applauded the level of participation recorded from the South-East on the first day of the virtual engagement, describing the response as encouraging and a strong indication of the region’s commitment to the Confab process.
She stressed the need to sustain the entrepreneurship spirit of the igbos popularly known as “Nwa boy” a business background local training for young Igbos across the country as critical to ensuring that their basic ideas on doing business is well rooted however, combining with part time education will be more helpful for administrative purposes.
According to her, the success of the Confab depends not only on the participation of young people but also on the quality of ideas and solutions they bring to the table.
The Sub Committee Chairman on Contacts and Mobilization, Chief Obinna Nwaka appreciates the presence of the Permanent Secretary, adding that her surprise visit has further revealed that her visit especially on the first day of South East Region engagement shows how detrubalized and nationalist she is, he also commended members of the Sub-Committee and other ad-hoc officers for being proactive and prompt attendance.
He assured the Permanent Secretary of effective service delivery from the situation room adding that the team from the NITDA has been effective from the onset of the virtual engagement.
The 2026 National Youth Confab is aimed at providing young Nigerians with a platform to deliberate on issues affecting their generation and make meaningful contributions to the country’s development agenda.
The ongoing virtual engagement forms part of the broader Confab process, bringing together youths from the country’s six geopolitical zones ahead of subsequent stages of the national dialogue.
By Hosea Parah
