From Idu Jude, Abuja
Preparatory to the general elections in 2027, Labour Party (LP) members of the National Assembly, in collaboration with the youth wing and the National Working Committee (NWC), say it is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the party bounces back to winning ways.
It has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to give express presidential order to legalise BIVAS and IRev machines for the democratic election process.
The National Chairman of the party, Barrister Julius Abure, remarked during the Youth Leaders delegate conference held at the party headquarters on Wednesday in Abuja that the Nigerian youth is a veritable tool to drive home the reconciliatory process in the party, considering its spread across 774 local governments of the federation.
“It is instructive for the party to exploit the youth’s demography to effect change politically and grow the economy. While admonishing the youths on active participation in politics, he further stated that the youth has failed to prove themselves in leadership.
“There is this saying that the failure of leaders is the failure of followers, and that is to say that if the government is good, it means that the followers are good as well, and if the leadership is bad, it means the followers are bad as well.
“So, if Nigeria will be a good country, it must come from the youths. And to achieve this, we need a youth reorientation to take over leadership because our leaders are not playing their roles as leaders. So, as youths, we urge you to start playing leadership roles in your various areas,” he said.
The Keynote Speaker at the conference, Honourable Benedict Etenabene, the Member representing Oke/ Sapele Urwie Federal Constituency, observed that the political pendulum is swinging towards an exploration of youth demography in building economic capacity for the country.
While citing the example of the recently concluded presidential election in the United States of America, he noted that Donald Trump won due to the support of the youth population and the interest in helping change bad governance.
Meanwhile, the youth in a communique read by its National Chairman Prince Kennedy Ahanotu said that it is ready to take advantage of the recent court interventions adjudging the party’s National Convention held in March 2024, with the resolution to lead a state-by-state reconciliatory engagement of the party members and leaders.
The youth also demanded that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Government send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly to legalize BVAS and Electronic Transmission of election results in subsequent elections in Nigeria.
The youths demand that the President, as a matter of urgency, should reverse some policies that are practically having adverse effects on the well-being of Nigerian youth such as fuel pump prices, electricity, tariffs, and incessant disruption in academic activities in the universities, amongst others.
The youths also reminded the President to match words with action by stating the modalities and action plans for the proposed National Youth Conference and urging the President to be ready to implement every decision arising from the conference.
It further demands the National Assembly to legislate on the retirement limit for all public service positions, including the Presidents, Governors, and other elected officers at 70 years. This, it said, will free a lot of positions for the younger generations to take up important national responsibilities.
It also applauded the presence and contributions of Labour Party members of the National Assembly at the annual youth delegate conference and urged for more collaborative efforts towards unifying the party.