It was an epoch-making day yesterday in Kogi State as Governor Yahaya Bello swore in executive chairman of local government areas of the state, with all their vice chairpersons being women in line with the country’s National Gender Policy formulated to promote a 35 per cent affirmative action for women.
Not satisfied, Governor Bello also directed all the local government chairmen to appoint chairmen of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) in their respective local governments as council secretaries as part of his administration’s strategy to engage youths in grassroots leadership.
Addressing a mammoth crowd at the swearing in ceremony, the governor charged youths across the country to leverage on the upcoming registration and revalidation exercise of the All Progressive Congress to enlist themselves
as valid members of a platform where their voices could be effectively heard.
He added that the youths are not positioned to effectively correct the mistakes of the past if they don’t participate in the process that would engender the change they desire, noting that their indifference would only earn them derogatory names from the older generation.
The governor asserted that President Muhammadu Buhari has created an
enabling environment through the party leadership which approved waiver for newly registered members of the party to have equal opportunities with those that were already members.
Governor Bello suggested that the youths should organize themselves under the umbrella body of NYCN so as to become a more formidable force to express their voice and speak against certain concerns.
He vowed that under his watch, the youths would never be used and dumped by selfish politicians, cautioning that those with wicked intentions would sought to use issues of ethnicity, religion, class differences to divide their drive but they should hold firm to their belief.
The Governor promised to support and lead the youths who are ready to confront the odd to change existing narrative, particularly those who were convinced that youths were no longer the leaders of tomorrow but today.