Hundreds of youths from across the 351 political wards of Oyo State on Thursday converged on Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, for the 2018 Peoples Democratic Party Youth Summit with a message to the Independent National Electoral Commission to scrutinise the voters register and delete all underage voters and guide against future occurrence of such in order to safeguard the nation’s democracy.
The party chieftains and the youth were unanimous in their call to the ruling All Progressives Congress to start preparing its handover note for a new PDP government in 2019.
With the theme: “Involvement of youth in Nigeria politics: 2019 in focus,” the party chieftains such as a former Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Mulikat Akande Adeola; ex-Minister, Jumoke Akinjide; former Senators, Gbenga Babalola and Olufemi Lanlehin; former Secretary to the State Government, Chief Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli; PDP National Youth Leader, Udeh Okoye; and a host of others charged the youths “to be united and work together for the success of the party in 2019”.
Akinjide commended the restiveness of Nigerian youths over the years, saying: “When the youth are involved in politics, they are just on the right track to progress.
“Youth should make a difference.
“So I want you to make a success of your participation in politics.
“And the INEC should provide a fertile ground for democracy to thrive.
“INEC should take all reasonable steps for democracy to work in Nigeria.
“It should not only promise what is right, it must convincingly been seen as doing so.
“One of the surest ways to go about this is by disinfecting the system from its moral virus, for example, disallowing underage voters or by stopping aliens from neighbouring countries from getting PVC, which in most places are not even accessible to eligible Nigerian voters.”
In his goodwill message, Alli charged youth to comb all the nooks and crannies of the state and enlist the support and cooperation of other youth for the task ahead.
Alli, a lawyer and an Ibadan Chief, said the PDP was open to all youth in the state irrespective of their academic qualifications, assuring: “Whether you are artisans, unemployed or in the formal sector, this party will accommodate all shades of opinions and your contributions before, during and after the 2019 elections shall not go unrewarded.
“We know your capability and this party will provide employment and social welfare for all the citizenry.”
Addressing questions from across segments of youth, Alli allayed their fears on a number of issues raised, stressing: “The PDP today under our leader, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, will do all within its powers to create an enabling environment for youth to thrive and be the best they can.”
On the forthcoming local government poll, Alli said the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission was not ready for the poll because it took our State Secretary, Alhaji Wasiu Emiola, to chastise them on their timetable for the election and they had just adjusted same after their attention was called to it.
Alli added: “Whatever happens, let’s see how it goes, but PDP stakeholders will meet very soon and take a position on whether we’re participating or not in few days time.
“The party’s position will be communicated to you all.”
Lanlehin tasked them to forge a common goal and be committed to the forthcoming liberation struggle being spearheaded by the PDP for the State to witness a new dawn and lift the populace out of poverty and deprivation foisted on it by the current government.
The PDP National Youth Leader solidarised with the state youth and tasked youth across political divides to punish the ruling party in 2019 by voting for PDP for them to truly savour democratic dividends that had eluded them since 2015.
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