Youth ministry endorses ‘not too young to run’ bill

By Ene Osang
Abuja

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has endorsed the ‘Not Too Young To Run” proposed bill which is undergoing legislative attention of the National Assembly (NASS).
In a statement by the Director of Press at the ministry Mr. Tolu Makinde,  the leadership of the National Assembly was urged  to quicken the passage of the bill to facilitate generational paradigm shift and lunch Nigerian youth into “floodgate of youths into the Nigerian political system.”
The Minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung gave the endorsement at the Senate Chambers during the Second Sitting of the Third Session of the Nigerian Youth Parliament in Abuja.

Represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary Alhaji Abdulrazak Salau, Dalung lauded the NASS for the proposed internship programme for the Youth Parliamentarians and efforts to ensure that activities of the Nigerian Youth Parliament are captured as a sub-head in the national budget.
He explained that the efforts will strengthen the Parliament to achieve more in the areas of regular sittings, effective internship and study visits.
The Minister noted that time has come for the Nigerian Youth to be given more opportunity to participate in public affairs, saying they have done very well.

“Since 2008 when the Nigerian Youth Parliament came into existence, the Parliament has been serving as a veritable platform for our young people to learn legislative processes, procedures and other tenets of democracy”.
He reiterated the conviction of the present administration that when an enabling environment is created for young people they can excel and reach their full potentials.

According to him, “the current Honourable Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Hon. Luke Onofiok was the pioneer Speaker of the Youth Parliament as well as Abdullahi Mai-Basira who later became the National Youth Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, while Ahmed Adamu, a former Chief Whip was the pioneer Chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council”.
Dalung urged the Parliamentarians to properly use the sitting to deliberate on salient and trending issues affecting young people in Nigerian as well as admonished them to be good ambassadors of their respective States and representatives of millions of Nigerian youth.

In his remarks, the Speaker of the Nigerian Youth Parliament, Right Honourable Ayodele Obe reassured that the Parliament is committed to Nigeria and to the development of Nigeria.
Highlight of the One Day sitting of the NYP is the prayer for quick recovery and wellbeing of President Muhammadu Buhari and continued peace and unity of the country and the adoption of the motion commending the National Assembly for its legislative work on the Not too Young to run Bill, which they argue will enhance more inclusion and participation of youth in public affairs.

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