Youth Support Groups of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), including the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), have kicked against the choice of Senator Kashim Shettima as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the party.
The youths also demanded the immediate substitution of Shettima with Dr Ibrahim Dauda as the Vice-presidential candidate.
The youths said the demands became necessary in a bid to ensure that the ruling party allow for the inclusion of youths in governance come 2023.
According to the youths, the decision of the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in announcing Shettima as his running mate, shunned calls for the ruling party to include youths in governance.
They, therefore, called on the leadership of the APC, the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and the party’s standard bearer not to take the focus away from the youth constituency for justice and equity sake, calling for the substitution of Dauda as the APC vice presidential candidate before Friday’s deadline by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This was contained in a communique jointly signed by the NYCN, the APC youth support groups include the Coalition of Northern Youth Groups, the Yoruba General Assembly, the Ijaw Youths Council, the APC Youths Vanguard, the APC Youth Leaders, the Niger Delta Youth Council, the Guardians of Democracy and Development, the APC Youth Solidarity Network, the Arewa Youth Parliament, the Middle Belt Youth Vanguard, the Northern Youth Congress of Nigeria, the Progressive Northern Youth Forum, the Northern Young Patriots and Professionals, the Kungiyar MATASAN Arewa, the National Association of University Students, the National Association of Polytechnic Students, the Coalition of Ex-Militant Generals, the APC Women Forum, the All Progressives Farmers Associations, the Nigeria Christians Community, the El Dabi Women Support Network, the El Dabi Grass Root Mobilization Movement, the North East Youth Forum, and the Arewa Muso Junanmu (The Northern Connect).
The communique reads, “We, substantive members of the Coalition of All Progressives Congress Support Groups, here speaking in one voice and unanimously rejecting in totality the recent announcement of former Governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima as the running mate to the Presidential Candidate of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Jagaban).
“We call on the Leadership of All Progressives Congress, Progressive Governors Forum and His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider the choice on the running mate of the Party, and give support to the Nigerian Youths’ nomination of a young Vice-Presidential Candidate by picking Dr Ibrahim Bello Dauda to whom we all rally round and give all our fullest support nationwide ahead of the 2023 Presidential Election.
“This group is standing firm on the Nigerian youths’ inclusion project and hence urges the APC leadership to give space to the youths to exercise their civil rights to actively participate and make a choice of leadership.
“The ruling APC and its leadership should hearken to the voice of the Nigerian youth now, as this will reaffirm the much-touted promise made by the ruling party APC on Youth Inclusion in governance.
“We also advise the Nigerian political class, the APC Leadership and our Baba, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to underestimate the rekindled will and determination of the Nigerian Youths to change the political narratives of our noble nation, Nigeria.
“In one voice, we say that this group and other hundreds of Youth Support groups across Nigeria assure APC and our Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of all our unalloyed support and votes only and only if APC Leadership and His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Jagaban) grants our request and goes by ‘Bola Ahmed Tinubu & Ibrahim Bello Dauda’ mandate.”
