- By Jacob Onjewu Dickson
Ahead of the national convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) the North-central youths of the party have asked the APC leadership to follow the advice of President Buhari for youth mainstreaming in its affairs for them and the women fold.
They also asked the party and the president to support a younger person as his successor.
Speaking with newsmen at at a one-day sensitization and capacity building retreat on active and meaningful participation in leadership he organised Thursday in Abuja, APC North-Central Zonal Youth Leader, Comrade Terver Aginde, said the party’s success can’t be writen completely without acknowledging the contributions of youths and women right from 2015, 2019 and now.
He, therefore called on the youths not to allow current opportunity of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Act signed by President Buhari to pass them by.
Aginde said; “I am happy that Nigerian youths, about three of them, are coming out to contest for positions as high as national chairmanship of the party. We are making progress with that and we will queue behind them to see if we can achieve the feat.
“We are also calling on the youths to succeed President Buhari. We will even prefer a youth within the age range of between 40 to 50 to succeed Buhari. And one of the reasons I appreciate President Buhari is that he has made politics very unattractive and uninteresting to some people like previously because he has ensured that money is not in circulation too much for such people. So, with or without money, we can achieve taking over the leadership of this country if we put ourselves together”.
Aginde said the main aim of the meeting was for APC youths to come together and build strategic methods, position themselves in preparation to taking up leadership of the country.
“There is no other time than now, fortunately, we have gotten the support of our dear President to participate, contest for leadership positions, both at the party level and as well as contesting for all leadership positions, ranging from Presidency, Governor, Senate, House of Reps and State House Assembly positions.
“To achieve these, we must discuss, strategise and unite to take over our rightful positions in leadership of our dear country. My Distinguish comrades, our party under the leadership of H E Mai Mala Buni has recorded a lot of progress but more needed to be done, and what is needed to be done now is rest on the shoulders of the youth and women”, he stated.
Aginde said APC under the leadership of Mai Mala Buni has recorded a lot of progress but more needed to be done, “and what is needed to be done now is rest on the shoulders of the youth and women.
“I will therefore urge our great party the APC to, however, prioritise leadership positions for the Youth and Women wings of our party as we move towards the next national convention and the 2023 general elections. I am sure that we the youths and women are prepared, ready and equipped for leadership positions more than ever before.”
The event brought together APC youths from Benue, Nasarawa, Niger, Kwara, Kogi and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
