By Philip Yatai
Kaduna, – Aid Foundation, an NGO, says it is building the capacity of young girls to effectively contest for political offices and appointments in Kaduna State.
Mr Emmanuel Bonet, the Executive Director of the foundation, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Kaduna on Tuesday.
According to Bonet, the foundation is ready to empower young girls as its engagement of older women has not been very strategic.
He said the foundation has concluded plans to equip young girls with the needed skills on how to use civic technology to develop solutions to problems affecting the state.
According to him, civic technology is the use of machinery to enable citizens participate in governance, assist in delivering services and strengthen government ties with the public.
He said that this among others would be the focus of the foundation in 2020 in the area of youth development.
“We want to prepare the youths, particularly young girls not to only participate in governance, but contribute in providing solutions to problems,
“We want to focus on young girls because they have great potentials to tap from the political spaces being provided for women to contribute to state development.
“In the next few years, beginning from 2020, we will be empowering young girls, build their capacity, get them ready to fill political positions through elections and appointments,’’ he said.
He said that young girls have more potential if properly groomed and empowered early enough to actively participate in politics.
The executive director said that the girls would be empowered under the foundation’s youth development programme, with particular attention to civic technology.
He however said it was regrettable that some young girls are not taking advantage of technology-based platforms to engage and provide solutions to societal problems.
(NAN)
