…His governorship bid no distraction to Tinubu
From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Nigerian youths under the aegis of the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders, (CONYL), the umbrella body of all the youth groups drawn across the six geopolitical zones has insisted that the son of the President, Seyi Tinubu is fit and
Reacting to a recent utterance by Joe Igbokwe that the President’s son is not qualified to govern Lagos State because of his youthful age, the youth group in a statement released by its President General, Goodluck Ibem, further gave reasons for their backing of Tinubu.
He also frowned at the comments of Igbokwe describing him as a boy.
The statement read in part: “We’re disappointed over a comment credited to one Joe Igbokwe who believes that Mr Seyi Tinubu, a highly revered entrepreneur and philanthropist who has proven his mettle is not qualified to be the governor of Lagos State simply because he is a young man.
“We would have disregarded the statement by Igbokwe but for the gullible public, we decided to respond in other to put the records straight.
“Igbokwe needs to be reminded that youths which he describes as boys have emerged world changers.
“In United States of America from where we borrowed our system of government and democracy from, have produced governors and other political office holders who are young men and women that performed exceptionally well in public office.
“Thomas W. Bartley, a Democrat was elected the governor of the State of Ohio when he was 32 years and he did excellently well during his administration. Mr Harold Stassen, a Republican was elected governor of the State of Minnesota, he
“In 1966, General Yakubu Gowon became Head of State at the age of 31 and under his regime, Nigeria experienced remarkable progress and development. He built the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries and so many industries and infrastructures that are still standing and in use till today. The list of youths who perform excellently well in public offices are endless,” Ibem said.
He added: “The “Not Too Young to Run” Bill as passed by the National Assembly and signed into law on 31 May, 2018 by President Muhammadu Buhari has relaxed some of the stringent and discriminatory provisions of the constitution which Igbokwe is still holding on to. Maybe he travelled to Cameroun when the bill was passed and signed into law.”