By Oluseye Ojo
At least, 60 groups of young people have submitted their position papers to the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters for the review of the Electoral Acts towards accommodating emerging trends in legislation and participation of young people in elections.
The groups submitted the memoranda at the South West Zonal Legislative Interactive Session organised by the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters, with the theme: ‘Legislation and the Participation of Young People in Elections: The Emerging Trends’.
The two-day interactive session, which began in Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday, with the support of three development partners, including Kimpact Development Initiative, National Democratic Institute, and the National Endowment for Democracy towards strengthening Nigerian democracy, was attended by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Sharafadeen Alli, and the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, as well as a former Senate leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, and a number of National Assembly members.
In the memoranda, the groups made various suggestions, opportunities for Nigerians living outside the country to vote during elections, reduction of age limit to contest election for House of Assembly from 25 years to probably 18 or 20 years, review of tenure of office for political office holders from four years of one term and eight years of two terms, to five years overall tenure that anyone can spend in elective offices, creating favourable financial ecosystem for young people to participate in elections, and so on.
A former governor of Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja, who declared the meeting open, told young people to be deliberate in their actions, by forming a political party, which they would fund by themselves. He said the ‘Not Too Young to Run Act of 2018’, has led to a reduction in the age qualification for the state House of Assembly from 30 to 25 years, House of Representatives from 30 to 25 years, and office of the president from 40 to 35. He added that qualifications could further be reduced for young people that have the capacities to be elected into political offices.
On his part, Alli said the interactive session, which began in Ibadan, South West, would also be held in five other geo-political zones of the country and would be concluded before the end of the year.
His said: “The leadership of the 10th National Assembly is committed to improving the electoral legal framework. As you are aware, a joint technical committee was setup and we commenced work on the reform of the Electoral Act, 2022 in October 2023 with a retreat in Lagos in November 2023.
“The committee is scheduled to carry out zonal legislative interactive session with different stakeholders and interest groups across the country.
“This South West zonal legislative interactive session is deliberately structured for young people to participate and engage with members and senators of the joint committee on electoral matters on their electoral reforms ideas and priorities. For us, we believe the opinion gathered here are not only important but are required inputs for the future of elections and the electoral process iNigeria.”
Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, also said: “Today, we embark on a journey to explore the legislative framework that facilitate their engagement in the electoral process or otherwise, and we will seek innovative solutions to further enhance their participation in future elections.
“The emergence of new trends fuelled by technological advancements and very dynamic societal norms, pose challenges and opportunities. As we strive to amend our Electoral Act 2022, we must seek to accommodate very useful and insightful legislative framework to make the participation of our young people more visible and audible.”
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, who was represented by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo State, Adeniran Tella, said the legislative arm of government has done its bit by passing into law the ‘Not To Young To Run Bill’.
“As such, the onus is now on you to brace up with the reality on ground and to hit the ground running in 2027 general election. On our part, as a commission, we shall continue to support Nigerian youths to take active part in governance,” he said.