Not too young bill passage patriotic

08131800030

The youths of Nigeria across all ethnic divides hereby commend the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki for his patriotic roles in the passage of the “Not too young to run” bill.

The bill that was given assent by President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday had been passed by the National Assembly last year which altered Sections 65, 106, 131, 177 of the nation’s constitution. The law has now reduced the age requirement for the offices of President from 40 to 30 and governor from 35 to 30. While the age requirements for the senate has been reduced from 35 to 30, House of Representatives from 30 to 25 and State House of Assembly from 30 to 25 respectively.

The Senate President is appreciated for assuring that the passage and assent to the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill would be the first phase in a journey for the inclusion of more youths in the nations affairs.

The Senate President also encouraged youths to champion the advocacy for free and fair elections in 2019. He further encouraged them to step up the advocacy by ensuring that more young people collect their permanent voters cards.

Bukola Saraki said the “Not Too Young to Run’ has just finished phase one. Phase two is ensuring that a lot of young people that have PVCs and letting everyone know that you have PVCs so that all the political parties will pay attention that you have the numbers and advised all young people that it is not a short race but a marathon.

We congratulate Saraki on the campaign that helped in the passage of the bill in the National and State Houses of Assembly. What he has done has become a reference point across the continent.

We further appeal to the Senate President to use the same energy that was applied to the ‘Not Too Young to Run’, to push for a free and fair elections in 2019. When you have the voice, you have the numbers. So the first thing for the advocacy that will support ‘Not Too Young to Run’ must be free and fair elections.

We also appreciate the entire members of the 8th Assembly. This is the first time that we had a National Assembly whose leadership played a visible role in the passage of the bill. The fact that Saraki played a part in providing the leadership for the passage of the bill is significant.

We want to convey our appreciation to him and the other 108 members of the Senate that we are pleased with this development. Himself and his counterparts in the House of Representatives have written their names in gold.

The nation’s youth owe Bukola Saraki a debt of eternal gratitude for rising above all odds to ensure that a constitutional space is yielded to them.

Samson Itodo, Founder, Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement, and Faruk Ibrahim,NationalCoordinator(YIAGA)