Traditional monarchs in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Nigerian youths have been charged to drum their support for their colleagues to take over the mantle of leadership across board in 2019.
The National Chairman of Young Progressive Party, Videyemo Bamaiyi, made this plea in Abuja while briefing newsmen after the formal declaration of an aspirant, David Adetunji Adeyeye, for the position of House of Representatives for FCT on the party’s platform.
Bamaiya lamented how the two major political parties in Nigeria have disappointed Nigerians in the last 18 years, calling on electorate, especially youths, to reject both the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress in 2019 and embrace YPP, which he said is dominated by teeming Nigerian youths.
He said: “Prince DAA is just an aspirant who is declaring to run for house of representatives under our party’s platform. Our party is all about raising a new breed of politicians without greed. We are doing politics in an unusual manner, we are youth centric, focus on youths and we are giving youths 80% placement in both elective and appointive positions, that is the position of party.
“There is an age you will reach in our party which you cannot run for elective positions. If in the public service, people have to retire at the age of 65, I see no reason why in politics, it is at 70 they begin to run for positions, we don’t have a space for such kinds of positions in our party. But there could be a space for such person to play advisory role to young people whom we want to project.
“We are out to push a paradigm shift completely because we believe the young people are the majority of the people in Nigeria, therefore they deserve to rule themselves in a more current and civilised way unlike what is happening before.
“Presently people who are ruling us now have taken us back to 18th century not even 19th century or 20th century and that is not the kind of things we represent.
“By the grace of God, we are taking over Presidency in 2019 because we are the third force people have been looking for. We don’t believe that APC has good for Nigeria, we don’t believe PDP has good for Nigeria, they are all birds of the same feather. And those other political parties that have formed a coalition together with the PDP are all the same.
“We are the ones that are progressives, who can change this country and we will present this country somebody who is 20 years younger than the current President. At least minimum of 20 years younger to be the President of Nigeria. That is the kind of paradigm shift this party is after.”
Speaking on whether YPP will field a presidential candidate in 2019, Bamaiyi said: “We have three Presidential aspirants that are running under the ticket of this party. We have Prof. Kingsley Moughalu, Donald Nwebu and we have Ayodele Favour. These are the three aspirants who have declared already to run under our party’s platform and our primaries is going to be soon, hopefully 1st of September here in Abuja and one of them will emerge as our party’s candidate and we will hit the ground.”
Also addressing journalists, Adeyeye said he would back calls for restructuring of the country if elected, adding that the new thinking now should focus on how to restructure the affairs of the country to ensure equity, Justice and fair play.
According to him: “The reality of the future dictates that we use our diversity for innovative economic solutions for our problems, unemployment, insecurity, lack of portable water or shelter does not know tribe, gender or religion.”
