INEC chairman, lawmakers, others call for youths’ participation in leadership

NASS committed to reform electoral legal framework, says Alli

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu; Oyo State former governor, Rashidi Ladoja; Chairman, Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Sarafadeen Alli; Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun and others, yesterday, canvassed for more youths’ participation in leadership in the country.

They made the call in Ibadan during the two-day South-West Zonal Legislative Interactive Session organised by the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters.

The programme, which has the theme: “Legislation and the Participation of Young People in Elections: The Emerging Trends,” was supported by National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Kimpact Development Initiative (KID) and National Democratic Institute (NDI).

Yakubu, who was represented by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo State, Dr Adeniran Tella, urged the legislative houses to assign leadership roles to young legislators to maximise their intellect, energy, and creativity in improving legislative governance.

The INEC boss stated that the 2023 general election witnessed youths’ participation in the electoral process. He, therefore, urged media organisations to take deliberate steps to spotlight the contributions of young legislators to legislative governance and ensure media visibility for young legislators at the national and state assemblies.

On his part, Ladoja said that participation of youths in leadership was pivotal to development. Alli, who represents Oyo South Senatorial District, said the theme for the interactive session is a deliberate step into the future of elections in Nigeria: what it should be and how the process should run seamlessly.
He said the National Assembly is committed to reforming the electoral legal framework for positive, effective and efficient leadership recruitment process.

In his goodwill message, Balogun, representing Ibeju/Lekki Federal Constituency, noted that young people’s participation in general elections or the electoral process are defined by many factors, including economic, political awareness, education, political culture, access to information and technology, youths’ representation and social networks.

He urged all the representatives of youth organisations at the event to actively engage in the discussions and collectively forge a path to strengthen our democratic process and deepen our democracy.