Nigerian youths under the auspices of the Nigeria National Youth Award (NNYA) will play hosts to the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, in December in Abuja, Nze Ozichukwu Chukwu, an NNYA leader, said here Sunday.

"We are going to use the opportunity of the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting (CHOGM) to interact with the Duke of Edinburgh on the way forward for our youths," Chukwu said at a new conference in the capital Abuja.

The CHOGM is scheduled to be held in Abuja on Dec. 5-8, while a youth summit is expected to form part of the meeting.

The NNYA leader told reporters that the interaction with Phillip would enable Nigerian youths to discuss issues relating to their growth and development.

He said the duke, who is the husband of the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II and the founder of the International Youth Award in 1956, would educate the youth on the relevance of the program.

"The international award is a self-development program available for all young people worldwide," he said.

"The program is meant to equip the youth with skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and the world," he added.

Chukwu further said the program, which had motivated young people to undertake a variety of voluntary and challenging activities, had been extended to more than 100 countries.

He, therefore, called on Nigerian youths to always involve themselves in the development of new talents and channel their energies toward useful endeavors in the society.

The youth leader, however, lamented the state of the Nigerian youth and urged the federal government to evolve programs and policies that would ensure a conducive environment for them to prosper.

"We need to promote, preserve, protect and provide for our youths to enable them to be useful to the nation," he said.

The Nigerian version of the international youth award is designed to encourage and stimulate youths aged between 10 and 25 years to participate in various skills acquisition programs.

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