Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara,
has assured that very soon, Nigerians below the age of 40 will be running for
the office of the president.
Dogara said the House was committed to passing the
NotTooYoungToRun# bill in order to lower the age requirements for elective
offices to ensure youth inclusion in politics and leadership.
Addressing the plenary session of the Nigerian Youth
Parliament in Abuja on Wednesday, Dogara stated that as elected
representatives, it was their duty make sure that their constituents’ voices
were heard, especially in a country with a youth population of over 60%.
He said as a result that “we committed ourselves in our
Legislative Agenda to give priority to – ‘necessary legislative interventions
to promote equality and inclusion, and entrench the rights of women, youths and
vulnerable groups in the society”.
He said the bill which seeks to alter sections 65, 106, 131
and 177 of the 1999 Constitution is aimed at reducing the age of eligibility
for elective offices across board, and to introduce independent candidacy to
our electoral process.
Dogara, however, said that while the Bill will not
immediately correct the marginalization of young persons in Nigeria, but that
it will, however, open up opportunities hitherto unavailable to young persons
in politics.
The Speaker maintained that a major challenge afflicting
Nigeria’s youth population is unemployment, and as “your elected
representatives, this gives us nightmares.
“It is also my strong view that creativity and innovation
are critical elements in engendering economic growth and development. Indeed
the world is open for the youths to excel, especially in the area of
technological development. Nigerian Youths can compete strongly in the
technological field in the new world economy. We only need better technological
education, funding and exposure to best practices.
By Ameh Comrade Godwin
