An election observer group, Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA Africa) has commended youth candidacy participation in the forthcoming general elections in the country.
The Executive Director of YIAGA, Mr Samson Itodo, in a pre-election in Osogbo on Friday, described the development as impressive.
Itodo said youth candidacy participation in the Senate and House of Representatives elections had significantly increased from 10 and 13 per cent in 2015 to 13.5 and 27.4 per cent in 2019.
According to the report, in 2019 general elections, 253 young candidates are running for the Senate and 1,262 for the House of Representatives
The report also indicated that in terms of party distribution, youth candidacy for the Senate and House of Representatives, five political parties had the highest number.
The five political parties in the House of Representatives according to the report are: Democratic Alternative (85), Peoples Party of Nigeria (80), African Democratic Congress (72), Peoples Trust (43), and Green Party of Nigeria (43).
For the Senate, Democratic Alternative has 25, Peoples Party of Nigeria, 14, Justice Must Prevail Party, 11, African Democratic Congress, 11 and Accord, 10.
“With this analysis given, the 2019 general elections will be a deciding factor not just for democracy, but also the inclusion of young people and all genders,” Itodo said.
The report, however, decried the downturn in female participation in the coming elections.
According to it, female participation declined from 17 and 15 per cent in 2015 to 16 and 13.4 per cent in 2019.
Female candidacy in Nigeria has a long way to go in terms of participation and inclusive opportunities within the Executive and Legislative arm of government in Nigeria, according to the report.
