Some youth groups in Ikorodu have appealed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to bring more young people on board in the upcoming local government election in Lagos State.
The appeal was made by the Concerned Ikorodu Division Youths (CIDY) in conjunction with the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) after a strategic meeting on Tuesday in Ikorodu.
CIDY Coordinator, Samson Basiru, told journalists after the meeting that it was time the APC gave more slots to young people to enable the youths grow in politics of the state and the nation in general.
He said over the years, the youths had been unknowingly marginalised due to paucity of funds that would have enabled them compete with others for elective positions.
“The party should give specific slots to youths across the state and ensure that payment for nomination forms are made affordable for them.
“The guidelines for election give consideration for the youths, so we are calling on them to fully participate in the coming local government election,” he said.
Also speaking, the APC aspirant contesting for chairmanship position in Ikorodu North LCDA, Mr Adedoyin Ogunbiyi, said Ikorodu youths were ready to join politics to change the narrative of community development.
Ogunbiyi said that the political class had been recycling same sets of people with no tangible result.
He urged the APC leadership to embrace a level playing ground during the primary election to ensure emergence of candidates acceptable by the community.
“We are calling on the party leadership to allow all candidates to showcase themselves and see how much they are accepted by their communities.
“Youths are the bedrock of development of any country because they constitute a larger percentage of the population.
“It is imperative for every country to understand that the youths have important role to play when it comes to development.
“So, we are charging them to join politics to change the narrative,” he said.
Mr Jimoh Azeez, who is also contesting for Ikorodu Local Government chairmanship under the APC, urged youths to join politics in order to reposition the political landscape of the state.
Azeez also urged those in government to embrace 21st century corporate governance that had modern way of generating revenue through technology.
“Politician need to build a purposeful society that can better the life of residents.
“They need to embrace technology, scientific way of operating like corporate governance, embracing modern way of generating internal revenue, ” Azeez said.
Also, Mr Ganiu Abiru, former clerk, Lagos State House of Assembly, called on residents and political leaders to support and encourage the youths in politics.
Abiru also advised party members to come out en mass to vote for their candidates during the primary election.(NAN)
