The National Assembly passed the ‘Not too young to run’ bill 2 months ago.
21 States’ Houses of Assembly have also passed the bill. The Ondo State House of Assembly was the first to pass the bill at the state level, followed by Adamawa, Benue, Kwara, and Nasarawa Houses of Assembly. Enugu, Delta, Borno, Ekiti, Katsina, Yobe and Gombe Assemblies passed the bill in December 2017. Kogi and Kebbi Assemblies followed suit in January of this year while Ebonyi, Jigawa, Bauchi, Kaduna, Ogun, Niger and Abia Houses of Assembly passed the bill this month.
The Anambra State coordinator of ‘Not too young to run’ movement; Mr. Nonso Orakwe addressed journalists in Akwa yesterday, he described an alleged refusal by the other 15 Houses of Assembly to pass the bill as worrisome.
Orakwe called on lawmakers to do the needful in the interest of democracy. He explained that members of the movement were driven by compelling need to restructure the country’s political structure in order to address the deeply entrenched system of political exclusion and institute inclusive politics, transformative leadership and electoral competitiveness in the electoral process.
“These states that have passed the amendment bill have been inaugurated into the ‘not too young to run Hall of Fame’ for voting in line with aspirations of the Nigerian people.
By this singular act, the 21 youth friendly states have made history and written their names in gold.
“The passage of the bill is a demonstration of their commitment to the tenets of representative democracy. We commend them for fulfilling their promise to their constituents and the Nigerian youths, who will always remember them for showing leadership in promoting youth inclusion in democratic politics in Nigeria.” He said.
