The crisis-ridden National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Edo State chapter, is enmeshed in fresh crisis, over 2024 governorship election in the state, as some of members yesterday called for the removal of Edo Commissioner for Youth and Gender Issues, Adaze Emwanta, for alleged attempt to foist his crony as head of the new leadership of the council.
Our reporter, who was at NYCN’s state secretariat, tagged: “Youth House,” on Akpakpava Road, Benin, saw fully-armed policemen, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), who took strategic positions, to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
It was gathered that the deepening crisis had to do with the successor to Governor Godwin Obaseki of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who would be completing his second tenure in 2024, with some top political office holders in his administration strategising to install youth leaders that would support their aspirations.
The Chairman of five-member transition committee, set up to conduct election into Edo chapter of NYCN in the next two months, Ehis Osagie, called for immediate sack of Emwanta, the immediate past Edo Commissioner for Communication and Orientation.
Osagie said: “NYCN, Edo State chapter, has been witnessing a rift in the past few weeks, following the failure of the suspended executive committee, led by Comrade Osahon Davison Obasuyi, to put machinery in place to usher in a new administration.
“The management committee, which is the second highest decision-making organ of NYCN, after congress, in its wisdom, constituted a five-man caretaker committee, to put in motion, modalities for the conduct of an election in 60 days, which the dissolved executive failed to achieve.”