The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Lagos East, has pledged to support the senatorial aspiration of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the December 5 bye-election in the senatorial district, Mr. Tokunbo Mikhail Abiru.
The Chairman of the NYCN, Lagos chapter, Comrade Olalekan Biliamin Sulaimon-Oba, disclosed this at a session with Abiru in Ikorodu on Thursday, November 26, 2020, promising to mobilise youths across the senatorial district in his support.
The session was attended by 16 coordinators of the youth council from the five Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 11 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Lagos East Senatorial District.
Speaking at the session, Lekan said endorsing Abiru became imperative because of all the candidates vying in the bye-election, only the candidate of APC took out time to host the youth and listen to their yearnings.
He, also, commended the APC candidate for prioritising engagement with the youth, saying this “is the first time a candidate singled out an engagement with the youth council in the history of elections in Lagos East and Lagos State as a whole.”
”Permit me to start by appreciating you for the town hall meeting you facilitated the other time when you hosted the students and the youths. This is the first of its kind in the history of elections in Lagos East that a candidate will have an interactive session with youth. We sincerely appreciate the gesture” State NYCN Chairman said.
”Our purpose of meeting with you again is to pledge our support to your candidacy and create a relationship with you because we are committed to your project.
“Within us at the level of the council, we have decided that come December 5, 2020, we will go all out to mobilise, converse and secure youth’s votes for you” he assured the senatorial candidate of the APC” Oba assured the candidate.
”Though you have not sent us this message, on the part of the youth council in Lagos East Senatorial District, we have begun a door-to-door campaign for you.
“We are already speaking to our colleagues that come December 5, we are going all out for APC, not just because of the party affiliation, but also because out of the whole aspirant, you are the only one who created time to host us and listen to what we have to say” he added.
He also noted that because the APC candidate had shown empathy, love and care during the End SARS protest through his constant communication with the youth at the period, the council was also constrained to throw its weight behind the man of the people.
Responding to the 16 coordinators from the five LGAs and 11 LCDAs in Lagos East, Abiru thanked the youth council for the support while assuring them of equitable and quality representation when elected.
Abiru, a former Executive Director of First Bank Plc and former Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Bank, said given his unblemished career of over 3 decades and family pedigree, he did not have a choice than to give quality representation and live up to the expectations of the youth because of their strategic importance to nation-building.
“I will not let you down, you can bank that. I thank you for the door-to-door canvassing, I believe you know the Party’s campaign has been localised as well. Why I will be more comfortable with the youth is because I believe it behoves on the people of my generation to encourage the upcoming generations by showing examples” Abiru said to the NYCN leaderships in Lagos East.
“I have not come into this journey by accident. I have come into this journey believing very strongly that I have accomplished a part of my life. I think it is worthy of emulation so that when you see the person talking to you, your hope and prayer is that I should be better than this person.
”I think given the way I have evolved, the chances are that I will not want to misbehave. I am not likely to go the way some leaders do. You know, I cannot put 32 years of my work life in an unblemished career and at this time I want to lose it.
“I have much to lose than anybody can imagine. If I want to misbehave, I would have done that long ago, you know when you are younger and you make mistakes, it is easier to correct, as you grow old, it is more difficult, ” Abiru told the youth coordinators.
He pledged to facilitate legislation that will support entrepreneurship and develop the county’s economy.
”I am mindful of the challenges of the youth which is unemployment. I will facilitate legislation that will bring about the ease of doing business, support enterprises to grow, infrastructure development, security and power generation that will aid youth engagement and employment.”
He also used the opportunity to remind the youth to remember that the menace of COVID-19 is still out there and that nobody will be allowed to vote without observing the established protocols.
”Remember there is still COVID-19, remember to tell your colleagues to use their unbranded masks when going to vote. It is important we stay safe while exercising our civic responsibility” he said.
