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Don’t expect elders to relinquish powers voluntarily, NASS tells youth

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As the preparations for 2023 general elections gather momentum, the National Assembly, has advised the youth to compete for powers, saying they should not expect elders in positions of authority to relinquish powers to them voluntarily.

Chairman of the House Committee on Youth Development, Hon. Adeyemi Adaramodu, who gave the charge yesterday in Abuja, said this has become necessary if they don’t want the Not-Too-Young-To- Run Act, 2018 to remain only on paper.

Adaramodu spoke at a policy dialogue on the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Act and manifestos of political parties organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, NILDS.

He said: “The youth should not expect elders in position of authority today to teach them how to unseat them or relinquish power to them voluntarily.

“They need to get involved in community development at the grassroots and use their population to change the narrative in the political space.”

Adaramodu gave example of himself becoming an elected local government chairman in Ondo State in the 1980s at the age of 29 without parental influence or resources.

Poverty of integrity, he added, is a problem the youth need to get over and not that of the pocket.

“If the space is not given to the youth within the folds of the two major political parties, they should as required strategy, move enmmase into any of the smaller political parties for actualization of their aspirations,” he stressed.

Also speaking at the event, the Country Representative of Westminster Foundation for Democracy, WFD, Adebowale Olorunmola, said Youth Participation and inclusion in the democratic governance is very necessary in Nigeria as a way of improving her not too good records in that respect.

According to him, global index on youth and women participation in governance in Nigeria is very poor as it ranks 128 out of 153 countries sampled in the world and 27 out of 53 countries sampled in Africa.

Earlier, NILDS, as organiser of the programme, raised series of posers on way out of inhibition of youth from the political process in Nigeria.

Some of the posers raised are “What factors are responsible for the poor participation of youth in the political process?

“To what extent do the structure , programmes and manifestoes of political parties support youth engagement and participation?

“Is the enactment of the “Not-Too-Young-To-Run Act 2018, sufficient to boost youth participation and representation in the political process?”

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