Don’t Vote for Candidates Without Integrity, Ex-lawmaker Tells Youths

By Gboyega Akinsanmi

Former Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Treaties and Agreements, Hon. Ekundayo Bush-Alebiosu, has warned eligible voters across the federation against voting candidates without character and integrity in the 2019 general election.

Alebiosu, also Convener of Young Alliance, has canvassed sustained youth participation in politics and governance if the country must survive its many challenges, saying the future of Nigeria lies with the teeming population of its young people.

He issued the warning in Lagos at the weekend while declaring his intention to seek a return election to the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), lamenting poor youth participation in politics and governance.

Alebiosu, whose aspiration earned support of several thousands of youths under the aegis of the Young Alliance and Buhari Youth Organisation in Lagos East, had declared his intention to contest federal legislative election at a meeting of Justice Forum, a political group with bias for the APC National Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu.

At the declaration, Alebiosu emphasised the need to vote candidates with character, experience and integrity in the 2019 general election, noting that only people with these qualities would rescue Nigeria from deepening governance crises.

He acknowledged the strength of young population to redefine the destiny of Nigeria, noting that Nigerians between 15 and 24 years “are 37,384,412 while those between 25 and 54 are 58, 604, 042,” thereby bringing the number to 95,988454. With this population, the youth population should determine what happens in Nigeria.”

After serving in the House of Representatives between 2007 and 2015, Alebiosu noted that he wanted “to return to the lower chamber with proven experience because the last two terms have been spent gaining a lot of exposure.

“This is now the time to put it into use. I have learnt a lot about leadership. It has helped me with things I have done and I have been doing in the last decade. I have garnered a better experience of how legislature works. That is the advantage.

“I am going to focus more on legislating to favour our economy, I am going to focus more on Education that is in comatose across board, and these are the areas I am passionate about. I am different person from who I was, we can only do better now, we have learnt and we would continue to learn.

“We must also now focus our energy on the legislative arm. We also focus on the executive arm. We do not focus on the legislative arm. What are the sorts of people representing our people, we must focus now to know the kind of legislators that we have, we must start asking about the kind of representation that we have.”

If returned to the House of Representatives, the lawmaker promised to advocate for legislations that would boost the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), saying the SMEs “are the only way out of the poverty ravaging Nigeria.”

He observed that the creation of more job opportunities could become impactful and meaningful in the country if the legislative arm “promotes policies and legislations that will encourage this critical sector of the economy.

“I am passionate about the SMEs. This sector drives our economy. If we want to get anything done, we must focus on that area. Again, if we must ask; what are the policies driving our economy, with the support of the National Assembly and the state Houses of Assembly, we should be able to achieve this.”