A youth-focused initiative, the Crucial Nationwide Property Infrastructure Safety (CNAIP) youth initiative has introduced plans to convene a nationwide summit geared toward safeguarding Nigeria’s important infrastructure.
The initiative, a flagship programme of the Organisation of West Africa Youth (OWAY), ECOWAS, said this in a press release signed by its convener, Ambassador Aniefiok Jimmy, Particular Envoy on Sustainable Improvement and Nation-Constructing.
The assertion mentioned the maiden CNAIP youth summit 2026 is scheduled to carry from June 15 to June 17, 2026, on the NAF Convention Centre, Jabi, Abuja.
It’s described as Nigeria’s first nationwide youth-led summit devoted to the safety of important nationwide property and infrastructure.
The summit particulars had been unveiled following a high-level roundtable in Abuja attended by the chairman of the Board of Trustees of OWAY, Hon. Uyero Erarawewho Jnr.
Jimmy mentioned the summit would function a platform to formally launch the CNAIP Youth Initiative, which contains 4 built-in programme elements geared toward remodeling Nigeria’s youth inhabitants into educated and recognised protectors of nationwide infrastructure.
He said that Nigeria’s important infrastructure is at the moment below threat from each bodily destruction and cyber assaults. Citing latest knowledge, he mentioned the nationwide electrical energy grid collapsed 12 occasions in 2024, whereas the Transmission Firm of Nigeria spent ₦8.8 billion repairing vandalised transmission towers.
He added that oil production declined by 27.4 per cent attributable to pipeline sabotage, whereas over 50,000 telecom infrastructure vandalism instances had been recorded. Cybercrime losses had been estimated at over $500 million, with annual energy sector disruptions exceeding $29 billion.
Jimmy attributed the state of affairs to what he described as a structural hole, noting that over 64 million Nigerian youths—lots of whom dwell near important infrastructure—haven’t been formally engaged or empowered as protectors.
“The CNAIP Youth Initiative is designed to vary that by positioning younger individuals as key stakeholders in nationwide asset safety,” he mentioned.
He defined that the initiative seeks to operationalise Nigeria’s 2024 Crucial Nationwide Property and Infrastructure Nationwide Safety Coverage and Technique (CNAI-NPPS), in addition to the Crucial Nationwide Info Infrastructure (CNII) Government Order, on the grassroots degree.
The 4 core elements of the initiative embody an annual nationwide summit, a nationwide public consciousness marketing campaign, a youth volunteer scheme comprising bodily and cyber safety models, and the Reform, Equip and Empower (REE) programme for at-risk youth.
The three-day summit is anticipated to draw over 1,000 individuals, together with authorities officers, safety company representatives, youth leaders, personal sector stakeholders, civil society organisations, growth companions, and delegates from throughout the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Deliberate actions for the summit embody coverage dialogues, keynote periods on infrastructure safety frameworks, panel discussions on youth and nationwide safety, technical workshops, and the official launch of the CNAIP Youth Volunteer Scheme and REE programme.
Jimmy emphasised the significance of redefining the function of younger individuals in nationwide growth.
“Now we have spent years telling younger individuals what to not do. The CNAIP Youth Initiative exhibits them what they will do. Nigeria’s youth should not a threat to nationwide infrastructure; they’re its most useful and widespread line of defence,” he mentioned.