In preparation of 2019 general elections, a youth summit championing system change has stated that it will mobilize for young leaders to preside over the affairs of the country, saying there is the need for President Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and others to drop their political ambition for younger generation.
The youth summit, which decried the continuous occupation of Nigeria’ s political space since independence by older men, said the country needs dynamic leaders below 50 years of age.
In a communique made available to journalists in Enugu at the end of the summit on Sunday and signed by Mr. Bello Olanrewaju, Aliyu Abdulrahaman and Tina Inyamah, the summit advised Buhari, Atiku and others to drop their presidential ambitions to avoid being disgraced by the outcome of the elections.
The group added that the just concluded summits held simultaneously in Enugu, Lagos and Abuja at the instance of Mr. Iheanacho Ezeakor, urged the youths in the country to reject not only Buhari and Atiku, the two prominently touted gladiators for the 2019 presidential race but other candidate above 50 years.
The Youth Summit said, “Having successfully concluded our summit in three major cities in Nigeria- Enugu, Lagos and Abuja, we have come the conclusion that the major problem facing Nigeria is bad leadership.
“We are being faced with a situation where people who are now lacking in new ideas are running the affairs of the country. Although some of them have good vision for the country, they lack the capacity to drive the process owing to their age and lack of new ideas.
“We are, therefore, advising President Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Sule Lamido, Ahmed Makarfi, among several others, who are above 50 years, to drop their political ambitions and support a young Nigerian. The youths are going to give them a shocker by stoutly rejecting them at the polls.
“We believe that these men and many others have contributed their quota at their ripe age and what we are having now is recession in leadership. They should therefore, step aside and support a youth presidency.”
According to the group, Nigeria is blessed but grappling with youth restiveness, unemployment and collapsed infrastructure simply because those at the helm of affairs are bereft of ideas. The group therefore resolved that it would ensure that a youth below the age of 50 will become the President of Nigeria in 2019 On the way forward, the group said,
“We need youths in the likes of Iheanacho Ezeakor, who is sacrificing all his personal comfort towards the emergence of Nigeria of our forefathers’ dream. Without mincing words, we are backing him as the next President of Nigeria come 2019.
“Buhari, Atiku and others will write their names in gold if they toe same line and support him with their political structure. From what we have seen in him, Nigeria will be transformed in no distant time.”
