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Tag: YOUTH LEADER

  • ‘Youths are not encouraged to participate in politics’

    Yemi Lawal recently assumed the position of Osun State Youth Leader for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) after his principal, Otunba Iyiola Omisore, and others left the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) earlier in the year. He speaks on the future of SDP and the plan of the youths to be more actively involved in the politics of the state ahead 2019, reports Adetutu Audu

    WITH the passage of the Not Too Young to run Bill into law, many Nigerian youths have decided to join the political train ahead of 2019 General Elections.

    For Yemi Lawal, the Social Democratic Party, Youth Leader in Osun State, youth inclusiveness in politics and transition is key. According to him, his mandate and objectives are very clear; the younger generation has been neglected and ignored in the times past and it is time to take the bull by the horn.

    “We can’t continue to do things the same way and expect a different result. So, the mandate is youth inclusiveness in politics and transition into governance,” he said.

    Commenting on the #nottooyoungtorun bill passed into law amidst jubilation in most quarters. He said that the bill should be embraced by the youths so as to show the older generation that the youths are actually useful by getting involved more in politics and making positive impacts in the entire society.

    So, what does their movement from the People’s Democratic Party to SDP portend for Chief Iyiola Omisore and many PDP faithful that also defected?  He said that Otunba Iyiola Omisore and a host of others decamped to the SDP basically out of principle. “Like I said earlier, you don’t expect a different result doing things the same way. As we can all see in 2015, Nigerians voted for change which has brought us where we are today in Osun State and Nigeria as a whole, and as a patriotic Nigerian, there is need to be pragmatic and find a  credible alternative that can begin to do things differently  because we cannot continue like this,” he noted.

    Lawal also described Omisore’s governorship ambition as a deviation from the past, adding; “We shall begin to do things differently and feel the positive impact of democracy. Democracy is about the people and nothing but the people; anything you are doing without a positive impact on the populace can never be regarded as dividends of democracy but things done for self-aggrandizement”.

    Asked if youths in Osun State have been fairly included in governance and if they have enjoyed the dividends of democracy, he said “youths have not been adequately encouraged to participate in politics not to talk of governance. We are here to change the rhetoric and do things right. Youths are usually the engine room of any nation and the involvement of youths in governance cannot be overemphasised’.

    On the plans of SDP in the coming elections, Lawal said SDP have shown intention to lead and that is what makes the difference. “Leadership is totally different from ruler ship and what we are experiencing today in Osun State is ruler ship and like I have been saying, we need a totally different approach to governance, which is what SDP is coming to do.

    “Our government is going to have more of people with technical capability to manage various sectors and people with youthful energy that can withstand pressure and make things happen.  The youths in Osun are going to have the opportunity to have a government that would be close to them, understand their needs and the opportunity of taking part in decision making as it affects the teeming populace,” he said.

    The present administration, he also alleged, “failed in terms of youth development and engagement. For instance, it seems impossible for the commissioner for youths, whose age is not youthful, to bond with the teeming youths. The state Youth Leader of the APC is a grandfather; how does this combine to ensure youth development when the contacts are not even youths. It is important to note that we must begin to put the right people in the right position if we expect to have a good and positive impact,” he said.

  • Stakeholders commend Ijaw youth leader

    A former Special Assistant to Delta  State Commissioner  for Transports Ebi Baikefie, has said the inauguration of the new National President of Ijaw Youth Councils Mr.  Owileme Pereotubo will foster peace and unity in the Niger Delta.

    He added that Pereotubo’s inauguration by Bayelsa State Governor Seraike Dickson was well deserved, noting that the activist’s pedigree put him in vantage position.

    Baikefie said: “With his vast experience in the field of peace building and ability to mobilise people for developmental purposes, he is the best man for the position and we believe stakeholders will benefit maximally. ”

    He will not only be the spokesman for the entire region,  but also the defender of the people. The time has come to take a critical look into the politics of the oil of the region and maximise the gains nature had bestowed on us.

    He said the region had  been short changed at the expense of the original owners of the land, noting that the only result that accrued from what nature had endowed the Niger Delta was perpetual poverty.

    ” I  have confidence in the  Pereotubo led leadership because  of his ruggedness and steadfastness, he definitely will not disappoint his people. The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) is a civil rights which had been demanding its rights in civilised ways.

    “The new President is not only competent but always committed to the cause he believes. He will also used his vast knowledge as a lawyer to explain the position of the law to his people anytime they are  undermined.”

    He said the Ijaw Youth Council comprised of Ijaw ethnic nationality, spread across Bayelsa, Edo, Delta, Ondo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, stressing that his appointment was a dawn for Ijaws across the country.

  • APC youth leader joins Anambra governorship race

    APC youth leader joins Anambra governorship race

    The South East Youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sir Paul Chukwuma, has joined the governorship race in Anambra State.

    Chukwuka’s declaration for the plum job brought the number of governorship hopefuls in the APC to 10.

    Members of the Anambra Traders Stakeholders Forum have endorsed him for the position. The decision, according to the traders, was taken after a critical studying of the contestants for the election.

    The leader of the group, Chief Clement Ilo, said: “We have come to endorse you because we have found that you have the charisma, quality, ability and capability to lead us to the promised land. We have the power to determine who governs Anambra. We did it when the former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju was in power.

    “We can still do that again. We will mobilise our members that are of APC to vote you as APC flag bearer. We strongly believe that you will defeat the other 15 aspirants on the APC platform and subsequently takeover from your brother, Governor Willie Obiano.”

    Chukwuka thanked the forum for believing in him, saying their interest in politics is commendable.

    He said: “I am contesting because I am qualified and capable of transforming Anambra. In terms of education, I am a First Class graduate of Philosophy, University of Nigeria, Nssuka.”

    The Youth Leader said the Igbo nation would have been better off, if the technological and entrepreneurial prowess of the youth had been sustained over the years. He added that his administration would initiate policies to tap and encourage the Igbo man’s spirit of industriousness and ingenuity.

    He said the time has come for the people of the Southeast to embrace the APC as the vehicle to reposition their zone and the country generally.

  • Uneasy calm in Ugborodo as gunmen abduct youth leader

    Uneasy calm in Ugborodo as gunmen abduct youth leader

    Fresh crisis is looming in oil-rich Ugborodo community in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta state following Monday night’s abduction of a prominent youth leader and leading candidate in an imminent election into the community’s youth body.

    Ugborodo community, host to Chevron Nigeria Limited’s $9bn gas-to-liquid plants, CNL’s Tank Farm and and proposed $16bn EPZ among other national assets, is one of the richest in the Niger Delta and elections into the community’s trust and youth body usually lead to tension and bloodbaths.

    Various sources said Mr. Ofe Penda, a leading candidate in the coming election, was abducted by armed men in front of a hotel on the busy Airport road in the Oil City, on Monday evening.

    The incident is generating tension in the area because it was gathered that it occurred shortly after Ofe met a factional leader and key player in the community’s leadership crisis.

    “We suspect that the gunmen trail us from the venue of the meeting.

    “They rode in a Toyota hilux van and they were six of them. The three who came down were heavily armed and they wore military fatigue and bulletproof vests.”

    The victim, whose whereabouts was still unknown at the time of this report on Tuesday, was taken away the Toyota Camry saloon car he was riding in at the time of the incident.

    Local sources said the abduction was not unconnected with election into the youth body of the oil-rich community.

    Mr. Temi Eyoyibo, who is related to Ofe, told our reporter that some persons in the clan sees him as the leading candidate in the running for Youth President, adding that his abduction was a ploy to stop the election and to cause another mayhem in the community.

    “We all know that some unscrupulous elements see the community’s leadership as their only claim to relevance and are desperately trying to postpone the elections to ease the way for their candidate and stooge, this might be one of the tricks up their sleeves to carry out that plot.

    “But we trust on the leadership of our esteemed king, Ogiame Ikenwoli, to restore peace and orderliness to all Itsekiri communities, including Ugborodo,” Temi told our reporter in a telephone chat.

    Meanwhile, at the time of this report on Tuesday afternoon, it was gathered that loads of Ugborodo women were on their way to the palace of Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli, to express their displeasure at the deadly drama.

    It was gathered that the action of the women was informed by their need to avoid further tragedy in the community, which is recently notorious for gunfights and bloody rival groups clashes.

    Although the Commander, Quick Respond Squad of the Nigerian Police, Mr. Alkali Lamido, could not be reached, a source in his office confirmed that the incident was being investigated.

  • Community youth leader denies report

    The Chairman of Oghareki youth in Oghara, Delta State, Mr. Favour Ededey, has dissociated himself from Niger Delta Report’s story on the  quarrel between the traditional ruler, HRM, Noble Oyibo Eshemitan, Oreki III and the community youth leadership.

    The Oghareki community youth chairman, in a statement, confirmed that an alleged N200m oil royalties crisis had been looming in the community, but said that he did not grant any interview on the matter.

    He said he would not contest what his co-chairman, Mr. Ejiro Efetoborem,  said in his interview with The Nation.

    The crux of the matter is a government’s directive lifting ban on youth activities in the twin communities of Ogharafe and Ogharaeki.

    The battle line is drawn between executive members of the subsisting youth organisations and the traditional institution.

    The pre-ban leaders of the youth groups, want to continue in office following the lifting of the ban, but the traditional ruler (Ovie) of Oghara, Noble Oyibo Eshemitan, Oreki III, wants a new youth’s body elected based on new guidelines. The net effect of the monarch’s plan will see the removal of the executive and usher in a new group, a situation the subsisting youth group find intolerable.

  • Day of honour for Rivers youth leader

    Day of honour for Rivers youth leader

    The Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Ambassador Sukubo Sara- Igbe Sukubo, drew crème de la crème of the Nigerian youths circle to Port Harcourt when he threw a lavish party to mark his 29th birthday ceremony.

    Youth leaders from all the ethnic groups in the state, the Niger Delta, South-South Youths Assembly and NYCN graced the event, which was held at the celebrant’s residence in Ada-George Road area of the city. The opening prayers were said by Christian and Muslim clerics. Some of the youth leaders who spoke to Niger Delta Report said the mammoth crowd at the birthday party was a testimony of Sokubo’s dynamic leadership and his cordial relationship with the youths and his contribution to the youth’s assembly in Rivers State. Comrade Mike Worlu, a youth leader from Elele community said Ambassador Sukubo had made a remarkable contribution to the youths in the state even before he became the state chairman of National Youth Council. He said, “He came from a royal family in Akuku-Toru Local Government. He is an open-minded person with the little fund available to him he uses it to assist those around him especially the less-privilege. That is the kind of person he is before he became the state youth leader.” For his part, Comrade Japheth Ogbueri the youth leader of Etche ethnic nationality, said he mobilized his youths to be at the birthday party because “Sukubo is a man that associate himself with progress and youth development.” The South -South Youths Assembly (SSYA) led by the National Secretary Comrade Ayisire Lucky presented an Award of Distinguished Icon of Hope and Inspiration to the celebrant. He said his commitment to diligent service stood him out for the award. “His total commitment to diligent service of the administration of youths’ assembly in Rivers State and South-South has contributed to the building of a united youth in Rivers State and Nigeria at large. His sensitisation programme towards collective empowerment for youth in Rivers state, especially his commitment to build a forensics laboratory to improve the ability of the police to investigate crime in Rivers state, is worthy of emulation. “The award became necessary after the fact-finding committee of the South-South Youth Assembly recommended that Ambassador Sukubo should be awarded the prestigious distinguished Icon of hope and inspiration. By the presentation of this Award the leadership of the South-South Youth Assembly wishes to assure the recipient that we will always stand by him.” Comrade Ayisire said youths have realised that leadership is not base on the level of school or degree, but all about how you can affect people positively. “The youths are the manpower of every economy; they need to be given the enabling environment to thrive. The lack of employment for the teeming youths in the South-South region has propelled the youths to engage in all kinds of anti-social activities such as militancy, crime and hostage taking and since the task of providing employment for the youths cannot be achieved by government alone.” Responding, the celebrant expressed delight at the reception according him by his colleagues, stressing that he was humbled by the huge turnout of guests. He said, “I took the responsibility of touching lives, not because I am a youth leader in the state, but it is my own way to honour God who has made it possible for me to see this day. I want to thank the youths who are represented here tonight especially the South-South Youths Assembly who presented me with an award, a special one indeed given to me at the day of my birthday, I sincerely thank you. ”

    The celebrant was assisted by his family members and some youth leaders to cut his birthday cake.

  • Youth leader to ASUU: end strike

    The President, Nigeria Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Abdullahi Abdulmajeed, has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end their strike in the interest of students.

    He made this known at a rally organised by the group at the University of Lagos, Akoka, where over 200 youths were mobilised for a protest. The protesters were drawn from Lagos, Ebonyi, Plateau, Kogi, Benin, and Abuja, among others.

    The academic body embarked on strike that has lasted about four months over Federal Government’s refusal to comply with the 2009 agreement.

    Abdulmajeed said the council was not opposed to the demands of the lecturers, but insisted that shutting down universities for such a long is unacceptable to the youth.

    He said: “We appeal to both the Federal Government and ASUU to find a solution to the strike because its consequences are becoming unbearable for youths.

    “l am sad that over 30 million students have been shut out of school. We don’t have problems with the request of ASUU, which are all legitimate and in the interest of our education. But, we have a problem with the fact that it has adopted an approach that is not dynamic.

    “ASUU may have a point. It is also a fact that they are fast losing credibility in the eyes of several Nigerians because in the present trade dispute, we are beginning to feel that ASUU is putting premium on personnel entitlements and welfare issues above repositioning and improving infrastructure in the educational sector, going by the method they have adopted.”

     

     

     

    “Nigerians are beginning to have their tolerance overstretched because in spite of the validity of their demands, they are adopting a very un-dynamic approach which fails to weigh the consequences of their actions on the students they claim to be fighting for.”