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The Renewed Hope Youth Engagement (RHYE), Plateau State Chapter, on Friday, November 13, 2026, held an educational empowerment programme in Jos, Plateau State, with the distribution of free laptops to deserving students across tertiary institutions in the state.

The initiative, held at Tamarald Event Centre, Jos, was organised in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the vision of Renewed Hope Youth Movement . It is aimed at promoting digital inclusion, strengthening educational opportunities and equipping young Nigerians with the technological resources needed to excel in today’s increasingly digital society.

The event featured the presence of the Grand Patron of the Renewed Hope Youth Engagement initiative, Barr. Seyi Tinubu, who was accompanied by the Honourable Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande Wisdom.

Other notable dignitaries included the Plateau State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Prince Miaphen; the Plateau State Coordinator of the City Boy Movement, Prince David Daser; the State Coordinator of Renewed Hope Youth Engagement, Mr. Manji Wilson; alongside other government officials, youth leaders, political stakeholders and students.

500 LAPTOPS TARGETED, 50 STUDENTS BENEFIT IN FIRST PHASE

A major highlight of the programme was the announcement of plans to distribute 500 laptops to deserving tertiary institution students across Plateau State.

Under the first phase of the initiative, 50 students drawn from various institutions received brand-new laptops to support their academic activities and digital learning.

Among the institutions represented were the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Plateau State University (PLASU), Plateau State Polytechnic (PLAPOLY), College of Health Technology, Zawan, College of Health Technology, Pankshin, and other institutions.

According to the organisers, the beneficiaries were selected based on academic merit, particularly their Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), through a process facilitated by their respective institutions.

The laptops are expected to enhance students’ access to digital learning resources, academic research, assignments, online educational platforms and the acquisition of essential technological skills.

SEYI TINUBU VISITS GOVERNOR MUTFWANG, BARKIN LADI MEDICAL OUTREACH

Beyond the educational empowerment programme, Barr. Seyi Tinubu’s visit to Plateau State also featured other engagements.

Prior to the event in Jos, he visited a free medical outreach organised by the City Boy Movement in Barkin Ladi, where residents benefited from healthcare services.

He also paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Governor of Plateau State, His Excellency, Barr. Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, at the Government House, Jos.

The organisers expressed appreciation to the Plateau State Government and the TIME IS NOW administration for their support and cooperation towards the successful hosting of the programme.

JOS ENTERTAINMENT STARS ADD COLOUR TO THE EVENT

The programme also featured entertainment and musical performances, making the occasion a celebration of youth, education and talent.

Popular Nigerian rapper Ice Prince Zamani, alongside Jos-based entertainers including Classic and Seemo Da Black Czar, thrilled guests and participants with live performances.

The entertainment segment added excitement to the gathering, bringing together education, youth engagement and the creative industry on one platform.

AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE OF YOUNG PEOPLE

Speaking on the significance of the initiative, the organisers emphasised that the laptop distribution goes beyond the provision of electronic devices, describing it as an investment in the future of young Nigerians.

For the beneficiaries, the laptops represent valuable tools that will improve their learning experiences, expand access to educational opportunities, encourage digital innovation and prepare them for a technology-driven world.

The event which was well coordinated by Renewed Hope Youth Engagement further highlights the importance of youth-focused initiatives in promoting education, innovation, digital inclusion and sustainable development.

With a target of reaching 500 students, the initiative is expected to extend its impact to more deserving students across Plateau State as subsequent phases of the programme unfold.

The November 13 engagement marks another major youth-focused activity in Plateau State, bringing together government, youth organisations, educational institutions and the creative community in support of the development and empowerment of young people.

The executive secretary of UN Climate Change, Simon Stiell, told the ministers at COP31 that climate finance must be redesigned to lift developing countries out of a cycle of debt and disaster, adding that meeting a headline figure will not do it.

“Meeting a financial target does not always meet countries’ needs. To do that, we need to look at how finance is delivered,” Mr Stiell said on Friday at the opening of a high-level ministerial dialogue on climate finance in Antalya, Turkey.

Countries agreed at COP29 that developed nations would lead in providing $300 billion a year by 2035, as part of a wider effort to raise $1.3 trillion annually from all sources.

Mr Stiell said the roadmap for reaching those sums “must become reality”, but that the terms of the money mattered as much as the amount.

“Many developing countries are trapped in a downward loop of debt, disaster, and devastating capital costs,” he said. “The threat of floods, fires, storms and droughts hangs over them, pushing up the price of borrowing even before disaster strikes.”

He stated that the terms of finance should reflect each country’s debt position.

“Private finance, loans and guarantees are essential to achieving our collective goals. But grant-based and highly concessional finance will remain critical, particularly for Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States and other very vulnerable economies,” he said.

According to him, broader action on debt is also needed to prevent countries from being forced to choose between repayments and resilience.

International climate finance for developing countries reached about $137 billion in 2024, and almost 70 per cent of it came in the form of loans, according to a UN Women flagship report released on Tuesday in Antalya.

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa paid more than twice as much in external debt service between 2021 and 2023 as they received in climate finance, according to an analysis published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

The analysis found that interest payments consumed more than 10 per cent of government revenue in 27 African countries in 2024.

The chair of the African Group of Negotiators, Nana Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, has said that a transition could not be called just if poorer countries have to “mortgage their futures” to pay for it.

The group lost a bid on Monday for a separate agenda item on tripling adaptation finance. It now wants the target prioritised in the summit’s cover decision.

Nigeria is not on the UN’s list of least developed countries, which places it among the states the UN climate chief expects to rely more on loans, guarantees and private capital.

It needs about $337 billion between 2026 and 2035 to implement its climate commitments, according to the National Council on Climate Change.

Omotenioye Majekodunmi, the agency’s director-general, said more than 80 per cent of that will have to come from private investment, commercial debt, and international carbon finance.

About $2.5 billion a year went to climate action in Nigeria in 2021 and 2022, counting domestic and international sources, according to the Climate Policy Initiative’s tracking.

The dialogue was the last in a series that began in 2013, and its conclusions will go to COP32 in Ethiopia next year, Mr Stiell said.