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Tag: youths

  • Youths for Atiku group opens secretariat

    Youths for Atiku (YOFA) the youth campaign group for the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has  unveiled its National Secretariat and campaign vehicle in Abuja.
    The event held on Saturday attracted YOFA executives, zonal, state, LGA and unit coordinators, as well as group members and Atiku supporters nationwide.
    YOFA’S National Coordinator Chimaeze Ogoegbunam in his address  said  said the group is determined to continue to use all medium possible to mobilize youths across the nation to vote for Abubakar as President in the forthcoming general elections.
    ” I must commend members of this group across the nation for their selfless efforts in promoting our principal since this journey started. It is the hard work of members of our team that changed the narrative on social media which in turn led to him clinching the party’s ticket. Our members are generally looking for what they can do for their nation and not what the nation can do for them.”
    Spokesperson of the group  Beauty Yahawah in her speech said “we are not lazy youths, we can drive the political scene positively to the direction that is most beneficial to us.”
    ” We have been working for our Principal prior to his victory in the party’s primary election, and are not tired of working… It is on this note that we officially present our national campaign secretariat, where we will be driving Young Nigerians across the nation to do the needful and work for the victory of our principal, Alhaji Atiku Abukakar. We have also provided branded vehicles.”
    Stressing  the need to “get Nigeria working again”,  YOFA stated that the current situation in the country is not where it should be.
    Dignitaries at the event include Hon. Oladimeji Fabiyi, Deputy Director of Support Groups, Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr. Ahmed Adamu, SSA to Atiku Abubakar on Youths and Strategy and  Mohammed Atiku-Abubakar, Patron of the group, Shehu Atiku-Abubakar.

  • Okowa gets backing from ex-militants, youths

    Ex-agitators and youths in Niger Delta have adopted Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for a second term.

    The former militants, and youths belong to the Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-militants and Youths for Atiku/Obi 2019.

    Led by Eshanekpe Israel aka Akpodoro, the group noted that Okowa deserved “even much more than a second term in office”, citing his impressive developmental initiatives in less than four years in office.

    Akpodoro, the national coordinator, spoke to reporters in Abuja, yesterday, saying  the endorsement came after consultations with stakeholders in the Delta project.

    He said equity based on zoning must be respected, noting that besides, Okowa had done better than his precedessors in terms of achievements, honesty, and sincerity of purpose.

    Akpodoro added that no government in the state’s history had taken such huge steps in infrastructural, human and material development, as ‘’this administration is selflessly doing’’.

    The coalition said Okowa, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) had given appointments to  all without discrimination in his bid to drive an all-inclusive government, and give the people a “sense of belonging’’.

    He listed roads and bridges built by the administration across the three senatorial districts, which he noted, had massively changed the narrative.

    The coalition is a 200,000-member group drawn from the leadership of former agitators in the Federal Government’s Amnesty programme, and a large youth population.

    It warned those it described as ‘’children of anarchy’’ not to cause disaffection by flying the ethnic flag for personal interest, saying Okowa’s support base and popularity cut across tribal divide, cautioning these “rebellious” characters not to undermine the peace in the state by creating divisions.

    The group noted that the Urhobo in Delta Central and Itsekiri in the southern district had their share of governance, adding that it would be reasonable those who served eight years each, support  Delta North to do same.

    Urhobo-born Akodoro, also coordinator of Urhobo Youth Forum for Change (UYFC), said the coalition had enough strength to drive the process of returning the Ika-born politician to the Government House.

    ‘’This is a PDP state and will remain so for a long time to come. We’ll deliver bulk votes to the governor from the eight Urhobo councils.

    But Akpodoro wondered why an Urhobo man would challenge a second term bid of a Delta North candidate?

    He stressed that the political class had established a zoning system, with the two districts serving 16 of eight years each.

    The North, he noted, had not even completed its four-year term, yet ‘’some selfish interests were angling to undermine a system that strengthens our brotherhood, uniting us beyond politics.’’

    “In the name of crass politics, some persons choose to play dirty deceiving themselves by wearing deceptive democratic faces, whereas they are anti-democratic elements, who have shown enough disdain for democratic norms.

    “The coalition shall be up against whoever wants to sabotage zoning, and Okowa’s friends shall be our friends while his enemies shall be our enemies, “Akpodoro said.

    He added that the group at the national level would work to enthrone Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and ex-Governor Peter Obi, to oust the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration.

    He said Nigerians must rise up to end the regime of debilitating hunger in the land bequeathed on Nigerians by the ineptitude of the Buhari government.

    ‘’The situation in the country was an avoidable malady brought by the deception of APC, which captured power with lies and blackmail’’.

    Buhari, he said, should be preparing his handover note.

  • ‘Youths use empowerment funds for luxury lifestyle’

    A young investor in agriculture in Ekiti State, Mr. James Idowu Oke, is setting example on how to fight unemployment and poverty. He is urging the youth to depend less on white collar jobs and embrace entrepreneurship to become fulfilled in life, ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports

    When President Muhammadu Buhari was alleged to have said that Nigerian youths are lazy, he was criticised in many quarters.

    But Buhari’s alleged statement has found a supporter in Ekiti State who believes that Nigerian youths are not doing enough in their contributions to the nation’s productivity.

    James Idowu Oke, an Ekiti State-based young man, is making waves in agribusiness which has fetched him fame and fortune.

    Oke, who is in high demand to speak at seminars and conferences within and outside Nigeria, is not happy that many youths are not making good use of opportunities offered them by government and non-governmental organisations for self-empowerment.

    Oke condemned a situation in which many of them divert seed money for business and financial empowerment from government to marrying wives, purchase of cars and other luxury items.

    Oke maintained that such attitude of the youth must change if they hope to make any headway in the competitive and unpredictable business environment.

    He advised governments to be cautious in giving out financial empowerments, advising that only serious-minded youth who have shown commitment to their businesses with evidence to show for it should be assisted.

    Oke is the Managing Director of Knights VIC Agricultural firm based in Ado-Ekiti with branches spread across the state.

    He has a degree in Agricultural Economics and has attended trainings in countries such as the United States of America (USA), Italy and Australia, among others on agric extension, fishery management.

    Since August this year, Oke has commenced free training for interested Ekiti people on several aspects of farming and agribusiness such as fishery, hatchery, feed mill, palm trees, snailery, piggery and plantain farming, among others.

    He also employs his trainees after their training periods if they could not start on their own. In about a week, another set of 100 beneficiaries will be trained in Oke’s institute.

    Oke, who is a Consultant to the Founder of Afe Babalola University, (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola on his large fish farm, told Southwest Report about his drive to develop Ekiti people through agriculture.

    He said: “I believe that everybody has the opportunity to assist others, it is not only when you are a politician and not only in distributing money but also in empowering the people.

    “So I have been thinking on how to assist my people and impact on members of society and help build the society. We have trained more than 5,000 people and out of them, 1,000 have begun their own business in fish agriculture.

    “We have been traveling abroad to get trainings but my aim is to have other people come from abroad to train in our country.

    “The training is free because we partner with a group whose name I don’t want to mention. It takes 40 per cent of the cost of the training while we take 60 per cent. We began in August this year.

    “If you have a civil servant who has spent 20 years in service, he can start something on agriculture and make something good for himself.

    “The training is a two-day programme on weekends and we train the trainees in all areas of fishery.

    “It is both practical and theoretic. We train the trainees generally. For the training institute, we have three lakes and 10 ponds. But in our main farm, we have over 80 ponds. A lake takes about 30,000 to 50,000.”

    Speaking about challenges faced in agribusiness, Oke urged the practitioners, especially the youth to be sincere for them to excel in life.

    He added: “One of the challenges is honesty and this is in two ways. The consultants are not honest with the farmers and those who have their own farms are not also honest with consultants.

    “Farming in this respect is supposed to be a collaborative effort. Some people get the money to develop farming, but divert it elsewhere. The job has to be done by someone who has passion for it.

    “In all the factors that affect the growth of agriculture in Nigeria, capital is a mere two per cent; the major factors that must be developed are honesty and truthfulness.

    “In production, if you want to have a hatchery in a mini-way, you would need between N800,000 and one million Naira but if it is in Kogi or Abuja areas, it would be up to N3 million. This is because of the changes in water PH. In Lagos, the water PH is usually constant for more than a month but that is not so in other parts of the country such as Ekiti, Abuja and Kogi.

    Speaking further about the free training and its benefits, he said: “The essence of training is to equip the trainees in a general way so that they can choose an aspect of farming they have passion for. We train them on how best to start that aspect of farming.

    “During the training process, trainees develop interest in any aspect of the farming that they like. Once they make their choice of an aspect, they come for further advice on how to start.

    “We are continuing this session with 100 trainees, and they include corps member, civil servants, civil defence, Road Safety Corps and others. We also employ trainees who don’t have money to begin their own businesses.

    “We are not doing this for political purposes. We just want to develop people and empower then but we can help politicians train people who they wish to empower on agriculture.

    “Yes, it is true that Nigerian youths are lazy. What President Buhari said about them is not false. We have seen this happen in Ekiti where many people are just lazy to embark on productive ventures such as farming.

    “During the first tenure of Governor Kayode Fayemi, he made serious effort to empower the youth but the huge money he invested then were wasted by those that the programme was meant for who ended up diverting funds meant to help them start farming.

    “They used the money for other private endeavours such as wedding, to build house and buy cars, among others.

    “I want to advise government to channel its resources towards development of agriculture. I don’t believe in people saying they have passion but do not have resources for farming. I began with just 300 pieces of fish. I excelled because I was unrelenting and was very determined.

    “I have spent 10 years in this business. I am the first person to begin fish farming in Ekiti State. Many people laughed at me when I began the farming business.

    “Our new development is to discourage imported feed mill. We have started producing our own feed mill which will be cheaper than what we have been importing.

    “With this, we would no longer buy feed mill at the cost of N7, 000 but ours which is of superior quality, will be between N3, 000 and 3,500. We have equipment to produce feed mill and other things necessary for fish farming.”

  • 2019: 70% of my appointments ‘ll go to youths, women, says Atiku

    PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate election Atiku Abubakar, said if elected, 70 per cent of his appointments would go to youths and women.

    Abubakar said this on yesterday in Yola while addressing a group of youths who organised a solidarity rally to endorse his candidature.

    Abubakar said 40 per cent of appointments would go to youths, while 30 percent would go to women.

    “The remaining 30 per cent will be managed by the elderly,” he said.

    Read also: Shettima to Jonathan: you lied on Chibok girls

    While pleading with the youths to vote for PDP for better life, the former vice president noted that their votes were vital for his victory as they constituted 70 per cent of the nation’s voting population.

    “This election is for you; youths and women as you made up 70 per cent of Nigerian population of voting age.

    “As for me, I have achieved in life, but many of you have a long way to go; you have no house, no job. If you fail to vote PDP you will continue like that.

    “On Election Day, go and vote, protect your votes and ensure your votes count,” he said.

  • Youths advised to shun drugs

    Youths have been urged to shun illicit drugs to avoid destroying their lives.

    A representative of the Lagos State Kicks Against Drug Abuse School Campaign (LASKADA), Mrs. Adetayo Asagba, gave the advice yesterday at a youth summit held at Surulere Local Government Secretariat.

    Some drugs, she said, could be cheap, but their side effect was terrible.

    She said: “It starts with truncation of a vital body organ. It moves to the brain, it can lead to madness. Eventually if someone isn’t careful, it leads to death.”

    The summit was organised by the national Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), in conjunction with the Legislative Arm of the Surulere Local Government.

    Asagba, who delivered a lecture on drug abuse at the event, said: “We all have a very bright future ahead of us. Let’s not use our hands to destroy our lives. The use of illicit drugs will ruin us.”

    Read also: NAFDAC partners Customs to tackle counterfeit drugs, substandard products

    NYCN state Secretary Comrade Ridwan Tinubu said the cardinal objective for every youth organisation was to train the trainer.

    He said: ”As youths, you don’t need to think about what the government can do for you. You need to think about what you can do for the government. Youths should contribute their quota in terms of intellectual capacity to ensure the development of their communities.”

    House of Representatives Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila, represented by Mr. Alli Balogun, urged youths to be part of the electoral process.

    “Do not see yourself as future leaders. Rather, participate in the electoral process to be part of the ruling class. Our future is here. We are the leaders of today and tomorrow,” he said.

  • ITF empowers 11,000 youths

    The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has said it has, in the last one year, empowered over 11,000 youths across the country.

    The scheme is under ITF National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP).

    Director General of ITF Joseph Ari said this in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital at the closing ceremony of the women skills empowerment programme (WOSEP) of the fund.

    Sir Ari  added that “we took 300 youths in every state of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

    The programme is finishing in December. What we did last year was to identified three trade areas. If we continue like that slowly and steadily we will get to the destination point.”

    The DG said that Nigeria needs hands-on trade to match its booming population, saying that “our own situation is even more dangerous than ever based on the fact that our population is booming by the day. A booming population without hands-on trade will bring about restiveness, kidnapping and all the vices in the society will escalate.

    “The population of the country is exploding by the day and if we do not empower the people with hands-on trade then we are in trouble.

    There is no nation that can grow without hands-on trade.

    “Paper qualification will not take us far. In other nations of the world who have had paper qualification they had to fall back on skills development and so such countries are today regarded as the developed nations of the world on account of skills.”

    On WOSEP, the director general of ITF said that “in the first phase, the programme was implemented in 14 states of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and trained 30 women each.

    Plateau, Kano and Borno states government, however sponsored additional 350 and 100 trainees respectively.

    “In all, a total of 483 women were trained for three months and empowered with start-up kits in various trades including event management, cosmetology, tie and dye, hairmaking, food processing, tailoring and fashion design, poultry farming, bead making, bakery and pastry. Others are domestic electrical installation, soap/detergent and disinfectant making.

    “In this phase that is coming to a close today, 360 women drawn from Akwa-Ibom, bauchi, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Oyo and Yobe states were trained for three months in tailoring and fashion design.”

    He warned the trainees not to contemplate selling the start-up packs, adding that they cost the ITF millions of Naira.

  • Youths to Obasanjo: Atiku should drop Obi or lose

    Ex-governor: I’m eminently qualified to be running mate

    Atiku Abubakar got yesterday a complex challenge on his presidential bid —he should drop running mate Peter Obi or lose.

    Some youths in the North visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo to table the knotty request.

    The Northern Youths Leaders Forum (NYLF) advised  the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to review the  choice of Obi, if he hopes to earn the North’s support.

    The group, which prides itself as the apex  body of 46 youth organisations in the North, threatened to mobilise its over six million members against the PDP and its presidential candidate, if Atiku failed to take its advice.

    The national chairman of the group,  Comrade Elliot Afiyo, who spoke on Tuesday  in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, after a meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday night, claimed that the body had been instrumental to the electoral victories of successive presidents since 1999. It claimed to have played a major role in incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory and it also played a critical role in the reconciliation between Atiku and Obasanjo.

    According to Afiyo, the group had equally intimated  the former President of their position on Atiku’s running mate.

    It was not immediately clear yesterday what Obasanjo, who has just ended a long feud with Atiku and endorsed him, told the youths.

    He said the Obi’s choice was causing friction in the Southeast, which  is largely responsible for the impending defection of the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremandu, from the PDP.

    He added that Obi is strongly viewed as anti-north and a major sponsor of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    According to him, over 70 percent of Emirs and other traditional rulers in the North will not support Atiku’s choice of running mate and maintained that  PDP will fail to produce the next president, if the party eventually flies the Atiku/Obi ticket.

    Afiyo advised PDP to pick Atiku’s running mate from Southsouth. He suggested that either Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike or his Bayelsa State counterpart, Seriake Dickson, should be considered.

    Afiyo said: “Atiku is an experienced politician, and he knows what happened and as a northern Nigerian, he cannot ignore that group. I have spoken to almost all the Southeast governors and they told me that they remained in PDP because of their governorship elections and after their governorship elections, they will vote somewhere, not PDP.

    “And for us to ignore the stakeholders, it is political suicidal, so we must agree with that fact. That was what we told Obasanjo yesterday, that as far as we want to Atiku to succeed, he has no alternative than to drop Peter Obi and with the contention between Peter Obi’s group and Ike Ekeremadu’s group, it is not political convenient again to pick a running mate from the Southeast.

    Because whichever group you pick from, the other group will work against them.

    “Then, in the North, we consider Peter Obi as anti-North. This is no sentiment. Apart from the way he treated the northeners when he was the governor of Anambra State, we consider him as a bonafide member and major sponsor of IPOB.

    “In fact, 70 percent of emirs, traditional rulers from the North will not support Peter Obi as the vice president.

    “We don’t work on sentiment. As I have told you before, our group staked our lives in 2015 for Buhari. Personally, I was placed under house arrest for two weeks throughout the extension of the presidential election in 2015. I was fighting with the hope that Buhari would change things but there is a cabal and Buhari is completely caged.

    “Also, mind you, Atiku is not a saint, anyone that becomes president, there must be a cabal, so we need a vice president that will tell the cabal ‘no’ and Peter Obi doesn’t have the courage and boldness to be the vice president to challenge the authorities. But if Atiku fails to heed our warning, then, APC will win. Buhari will win hands down because we cannot support a failure. We will work for APC.”

    Obi’s spokesman Valemtine Obienyen dismissed the claims by the group. He said Obi’s choice had been well received.

    He added: “Why protest in Ota? Who is behind the protest? What does the project intend to achieve? Is it true that the planning of the protest was revealed almost a week ago? Why is it that when you have failed to see any fault in Obi, you are bent on inventing one?  These are necessary questions which any sincere inquirer will deem appropriate to start with.

    He said: “ We do not need such  distraction now. What we need is joining of hands together as we collectively seek solutions to our problems.

    “All those that knew Obi very well for what he did in the past, both in his private business and governance of Anambra State and thereafter,  wrote eulogies of him. Researchers went to work. After careful and painstaking analyses of his past, they submitted that he is humble, hardworking, knowledgeable about the economy, aware of the myriad of problems of the country, detribalised and a believe in the unity of the country .

    Since leaving office, Obi has been busy visiting schools all over the country, from Cross River to Sokoto. Obi has been busy diagnosing the problems of the country and offering solutions. Obi has been busy preaching the unity of the country and how good governance will solve the problems in Nigeria, caused by cumulative years of leadership failure that make the protest under review suspicious and, in fact, an attempt to give the dog a bad name in order to hang it.”

     

  • Performance –character= mediocrity (Part 2)

    No doubt, Nigeria is blessed with “great brains”. Recently, I read that four Nigerian high school students, all under age 15 years, devised a “urine-powered” generator that can supply 6 hours of uninterrupted electricity with one litre of processed urine..hmm.. we have multitalented young people in this country! Many people have talents but only few have the character to match up with their talent. Let’s call a spade a spade; performance without a great character is mediocrity of the highest order! Our values have been “de-valued” to what you have not who you are..the pressure to perform and impress is excruciatingly weighty on virtually everyone in our society..little wonder prevalence of drug abuse is on the rise especially amongst the youths.

    At this point I need to also emphasize the old adage that says; Charity begins at home;  I say education begins at home..please don’t confuse education with certification. A truly educated person is someone who has been tutored to meet his own needs and the needs of others. Believe it or not, every parent/guardian is a teacher..the first teacher the child is introduced to..your actions form the curriculum your child learns from. In fact at the core of an  ideal curriculum is character building.

    I recall the song of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti; “Teacher no teach me nonsense”. Mediocrity is nonsense! Don’t take things for granted. I learned that in the process of making a skirt for instance, you can’t stitch a line and leave the other side, it will look like “Iro”(wrapper)..in fact it can’t make “Iro” because it needs to go round..it has to be completed 100% to make a skirt. If you don’t learn to pay attention to details no matter how little, predators will feast on you! Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. When I think of this, I think of the movie “The Last Samurai” and how the soldiers and generals were trained in the art of excellence even when it came to the smallest matters of preparing and serving tea, tending a garden, mending their clothing, sharpening and caring for their weapons, training their bodies, and what they ate and how they ate it. Everything they engaged in was an art ..no detail was too small to be attended to with excellence..if I may ask you, is that your way of life?

    Nigeria must survive.. It’s not enough to pray (prayer without works is mere religious idiosyncrasy).It’s high time we integrated the principles of integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, empathy, industry, simplicity, modesty..into our basic character as a nation and as citizens. More reward systems should be invented to honor great characters regardless of their status not the “quick fix- celebrities”. When we celebrate people who are visionary leaders and dependable followers, we are showing up not showing off! The story of Kofi, a motorcyclist (or Okada-man if you like) comes to mind. On a certain day in July 2014, I closed from work feeling depressed. It was a terrible day in the office..the internet connection was down throughout the day and I needed to make a sales presentation the following morning. I tried all alternatives but none worked..to make matters worse my laptop was also malfunctioning. I left the office in anger picturing the humiliation I would face the following day. I got to the gate of the estate where I live and as usual called a motorcyclist. A clean shaved, neatly dressed “Okada-man” stopped to pick me. Drowsily, I told him my address and got on the passenger’s seat.. he asked if I was ready for the ride..I looked at him in awe..ready? I shouted Yes please! (more like don’t stress me o jare). Unlike an average “Okada-man” he never responded in anger..rather he smiled and rode off. Minutes after we took off, a melodious voice blew into my eardrums like a wind..I was quickened and energized immediately. I observed that the “Okada-man” was actually the one crooning a song..the song was highly inspirational..the type that nourishes my soul. He continued until he got to my gate and I alighted.”Thank you for the song.. you are an amazing character. Your future is very bright”..I smiled as I gave him N100. He told me that he is a graduate of a prominent university in Nigeria..he could not secure a job after 2 years of graduation, after several rejections he decided to buy a motorcycle with his savings and hopefully trust that life would unveil itself to him.

    I encouraged him to remain focused and to uphold excellence always.. We parted amicably. One rainy Saturday morning in September 2018, I had an early morning meeting, so I  defied the rain..stood at the bus stop waiting for a commercial bus..not even one passed for over 20 minutes. I became restless. At that moment, a car passed by and the driver suddenly reversed to where I stood..I was jittery but my nerves relaxed a bit when the driver gave a warm smile and politely offered to take me to the exit gate. I sat in front close to him. He broke the silence with a question: “Madam, do you know me?” “I don’t think so”..I giggled. Then he said..”Can you remember the “Okada-man…?” Before he finished his sentence I shouted..”yes ..Kofi..the singer!  Wow..Kofi..you look good!!! You are different..trendy…what happened to you?” He narrated his story; Shortly after we meet in 2014,  the Residence Association banned motorcyclists within the estate and introduced commercial buses. Many of his colleagues moved out to operate as Okada riders in neighboring towns however one of the members of the Residence Association decided to employ Kofi as the administrative manager of his transportation business. Kofi was given an official car..flat and a fat salary package..hmm..I could not close my mouth..I was in awe..what a promotion!! If Kofi..an “Okada-man” could rise to become an admin manager..what is your excuse? Excellence is your lifeline! Match your excellence with  great character.Remember a right attitude wins always!

     

  • Youths protest direct primary in FCT

    Irate youths who claimed to be indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Wednesday stormed the APC Secretariat in protest against the use of direct mode for the conduct of party primaries in the FCT.

    The protesters who claimed that all contestants for the various positions in the FCT agreed for the use of indirect primary and wondered why the National Working Committee would impose a direct mode on them.

    They claimed that the party was planning to impose a particular aspirant on them, pointing out that through the indirect mode, they are sure that an indigene of the FCT will emerge as the candidate of the party.

    The irate youths who became violent started pulling down the security wire around the Secretariat and destroyed the billboard in front of the secretariat while locking up the entrance into the secretariat while daring the police to open fire on them.

    The arrival of the Commissioner of Police in the FCT however prevented what would have turned into a brutal confrontation between the police and the irate youths who chanted anti-Oshiomhole slogans.

    They however dispersed later threatening to come back within two hours if the NWC does not reverse the mode of primary from direct to indirect primary.

    About nine aspirants are contesting the Senatorial primary in the FCT.

    No party official was on ground when the protesters stormed Secretariat and chased away the security men at the gate.
    Heavily armed policemen have taken over security in and around the APC Secretariat.

  • Youths and cost of elections

    Sir: An election is very important in any democratic society. For one to be elected into public office in Nigeria, one must pass through an election, except in some states where transitional chairmen were usually appointed by the state chief executives, to preside over the affairs of the local government council without an election.

    These elective positions have been largely dominated by oldgeneration politicians. Youths have no place in Nigeria election because of the high cost of election.The two leading political parties in Nigeria did not help matters at all. A candidate trying to fly the party flag for the office of the president in APC will have to pay N45 million  while a candidate vying for them same position in PDP will pay N12 million. For governorship candidate, person trying to fly the APC flag as its governorship candidate will pay N22.5 million whereas PDP candidate is to pay N6 million.

    Raising money to purchase the party nomination form is one thing, raising money to campaign to get good number of party delegates to choose one as party candidate is another thing. How can an average Nigerian youth inspiring to be governor in 2019 raise N22.5 millionor N6 millionto buy party form to contest party primary which he/she is not sure of winning? The cost of nomination form by political parties has made nonsense of “Not Too Young to Rule Act”. Since minimum wage in Nigeria is N18000, there is no basis asking the party candidates to pay such outrageous fee.

    There is no doubt that political parties need money to run their affairs;the bulk of such money however should not come through the sale of nomination forms.

    High cost of nomination form is breeding ground for godfatherism. Young people who want to contest for governorship in their state but do not have such amount to pay as nomination form may end up being sponsored by money bags who will in turn becomes the shadow governorsif  the benefactors emerges the winners. Thus, the godfather will be the one dictating what happens in the state which will make good governance impracticable.

    Payment of membership dues and annual subscription by members should be enforced to enable political parties to have steady income so as to sustain the party.

    Finally, for young people to take their position as leaders, political parties should reduce the cost of nomination forms or alternatively make it free for faithful, loyal and committed party members so as to deepen our democracy and create equal opportunity for all. If nothing is done, old people will still continue to occupy our political space.

     

    • Kingsley Nnajiaka,

    Centre for Social Justice Abuja.