2027: FG Will Provide Special Incentives for Youth Participation in Politics, Says Minister
•Urges young people to contest for councilors, states’ lawmakers
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The Minister of Youth Development, Hajia Jamila Ibrahim, has said the federal government through her ministry would provide special incentives and mentorship for young Nigerians who want to contest the 2027 general elections.
Ibrahim, however, urged qualified youths to seek elections into the parliaments of the local government councils and state Houses of Assembly.
The minister gave the advice yesterday during graduation and conferment of the Legislative Mentorship Initiative (LMI) Fellowship ceremony held at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) in Abuja.
The event was the second cohort of the LMI, a mentorship programme started by a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who is the current Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
The minister, who said young politicians produced significant upsets and unseated incumbents in the 2023 elections said, “I will be glad if more young men and women run for political offices in 2027 as councillors and Houses of Assembly members.
“It is better to take up leadership at the grassroots levels and grow to become major political players in the state and the national levels.”
Quoting a report by Yiaga Africa, the minister said, youth representation in the legislature improved slightly.
She said, “Compared to the 2015 and 2019 elections, the 2023 elections marked a notable increase in the representation of young people in both the National and State Houses of Assemblies.
“In the House of Representatives, youth representation rose from 3 per cent in 2019 to 3.92 per cent, signifying a 0.9 per cent increase.
“Similarly, there was a 0.3 per cent increase at the state level, from 8.9 per cent to 9.2 per cent in youth representation in state assemblies.
“Notably, individuals between the ages of 25 and 35 secured 14 out of the 360 seats in the House of Representatives and 92 out of 993 constituency seats in sub-national legislative houses.
“The 2023 elections witnessed historic victories on two fronts: First, two individuals under the age of 29 secured seats in the National Assembly.
“Second, young female legislators achieved unprecedented success in legislative elections.
“Four female legislators under the age of 35 secured seats in three state assemblies-Delta, Lagos, and Kwara- with Kwara State boasting the highest number of young female legislators.
“Remarkably, the youngest elected female legislator, age 26, hails from Kwara State. This marks the first instance in the 25-year history of Nigeria’s democratic journey where voters elected four young female legislators and candidates below 30 to the National and State Assemblies.”
The minister said the achievements symbolises resilience, resistance, and the courage of young people in reshaping the power dynamics in democratic politics as they exemplify the possibilities that arise when the political landscape is broadened through constitutional and policy reforms, allowing new voices to emerge
Ibrahim said that her ministry is dedicated to developing programmes and initiatives that empower the youth to take charge of their destinies.
Earlier, Director General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said the programme is now in its second phase and it is being handled exclusively by the institute.
Sulaiman said it was meant to equip the participants with relevant legislative capabilities and to expose them to essential governance skills.
According to NILDS DG, the skills would enable the mentee to function effectively in the public governance sector whenever they have the opportunity to do so.
In his remarks, Gbajabiamila, congratulated the 45 graduates selected from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on their successful completion of the programme and thanked them for believing enough in the vision of the LMI to apply and stay the course.
