The All Progressives Congress APC has come under fire over its choice of Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo its youth leader. A group , the Youth Initiative for Advocacy and Advancement,YIAGA in a statement Tuesday said “This election or selection of a 52 year old as a National youth leader of the All progressive party (APC) contradicts the provision of the party constitution which in itself defines youth as persons between the age of 18 – 40. This fundamental breach of party constitution immediately after amendment raises questions about the APC’s disposition to rule of law, due process and accountability;
Cynthia Mbamalu,Research & Programs Manager,YIAGA said “this development reveals a total disregard of the party to the youth, particularly within the confines of the present national demography where youth constitutes up to 70 percent of the country’ population. The selection of a 52 year old as youth leader by the APC is not only antithetical to democratic ethos but further shrinks the political space precluding young people from participating in electoral politics;
According to the group,“The continual exclusion of young people from decision making processes and democratic institutions is an injustice which bares our society to the threat of democratic extinction. No society progresses when the youth are excluded from decision making processes and denied the benefits of inter-generational leadership and mentorship.
Quite naturally too, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP has latched on to this blunder when it expressed shock over a statement by the APC regarding the actual age of its National Youth Leader, Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh in a statement on Tuesday said it was disheartening that the APC has refused to shed its unnecessary penchant for lies even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
“It is public knowledge that Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo contested the Gombe/Kwame/Funakaye Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representative in 2011 during which he declared his age to be 49 years. The records are there and they speak for themselves.
“If Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo was 49 years in 2011, it naturally follows that he is 52 at present for which he should be grateful to God. It is therefore clear that the statement by the APC declaring him to be 42 years is false.
“Whilst we concede that the APC has the right to select a person of any age for any position within their fold, including a man of 52 as National Youth Leader, we are however shocked that they chose to lie over an issue as ordinary as the age of a national officer”, the statement said.
The PDP said in lying over the age of its national officer, the APC has shown that “it has little regard for integrity and that its statements cannot be trusted.”
It finally advised the APC, now under a new leadership to imbibe the culture of integrity and honesty especially as Nigerians deserve to know the truth and the correct state of facts always.
On its part ,YIAGA called for “an immediate reversal of the declaration of Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo as the National Youth Leader of APC;
It also called for the “conduct of fresh elections for the National Youth Leader of the party for candidates within ages 18-35 as defined by the National Youth Policy, Nigerian Youth Agenda on Political Participation and supported by the African Youth Charter;
Mbamalu’s statement also advocated for “a review of the APC Constitution to define the youth age as 18-35 in compliance with the National Youth Policy, African Youth Charter, Nigerian Youth Agenda on Political Participation, 2014;
“YIAGA enjoins young people who are members of the APC to explore internal mechanisms within the party to dislodge or reverse this ugly development that is inimical to effective youth political participation. Instituting legal action in court is an option that should be explored in the event internal party conflict resolution mechanism fails. YIAGA is willing to provide free legal services to persons interested in litigation”, the statement said.
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