Stakeholders, made up of socio-political youth groups, non-governmental organisations (NG0), corporate organisations and public spirited individuals have raised the alarm over moves to frustrate, ridicule and bury the Not Too Young To Run Act, which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018.
They raised the alarm in Calabar, weekend, during voters’ enlightenment workshop with the theme ‘I Pledge to Vote,’ organised by an organisation – Run To Win, in partnership with Madiba Foundation for Good Governance, MacArthur Foundation and Centre for Journalism Innovations and Development (CJID).
One of the resource persons and senior special assistant to Governor Ben Ayade on Inter-governmental Affairs, Chris Ogar, laid the blame at the doorsteps of political parties, greedy leadership and monetisation of the electioneering processes.
“The Not Too Young to Run Act has become a theoretical jamboree. The huge cost of nomination forms, the high logistics for campaigns as well as the issue of vote buying, are threats to the Not Too Young to Run Act, and if these anomalies continue, the act would be as good as dead,” he warned.
Programme Manager of the Run To Win, Ibokor Tunbi, appealed to youth to take ownership of Nigeria’s political horizon.
She called on Nigeria’s political leaders to do everything within their powers to encourage youth participation in politics by removing barriers to their full involvement.
“I hereby appeal to youth to refuse to be intimidated by any odds. They must exercise their franchise because their franchise is their power. Involvement, coming out to vote and voting right is the only way youth can change the narratives,” she stated.
