Politics
2023: Youths’ll Take Over Govt – Rep
The Chairman, Youth Pro gressive Forum, National Assembly, Kabir Tukura, said that the group would do everything humanly possible within its powers to ensure young people have increased access to political offices.
Tukura, a House of Representatives’ member from Kebbi, said this at the Inclusive and Accountability Politics (IAP) programme organised by Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) in Abuja.
He said that the National Assembly had been partnering with WFD to achieve a lot in terms of equipping youths to run for offices and it had led to tremendous impact in their lives.
He commended WFD for the politics with values initiative, adding that this was just the starting point of proffering ways to increase inclusion in politics .
“We are here to honour outstanding performances and achievement, it is a very good platform for us to call ourselves to do more; so, I urge all you volunteers not to see this as a reward but as a call for more.
“We expect that by 2023 you are all members of major political parties in the country; I don’t want it to stop there.
“What we want is to first see you aspiring for offices, the WFD wishes to see more young people participate in the electoral process,’’ he said.
Tukura said that recently, a first care review was conducted in collaboration with WFD to see the impact that young legislatures were making in the 9th Assembly.
“I make bold to tell you that in terms of motions, quality representation ,close contact with constituents , members that are within the WFD (youths) bracket stand out and are doing better than those in the older group of people,’’ he said.
Mr Obajide Obanikoro representing Eti-Osa Federal Constituency Lagos said that youths interest in politics was commendable and encouraged youths to join political parties.
According to Obanikoro, a lot of youths have the idea of wanting to start their own party to run for offices but it usually is a step in the wrong direction because of due to lack of finance and the structure to deliver in an election.
“So I encourage all youths to either join the ruling party or the opposition party, fill them up that way they will win elections.
“Trying to float a new party is not going to help us. Let us concentrate our numbers in these two major parties and let’s slug it out among ourselves and we will see a difference in youth participation in governance.
Country Director WDF, Nigeria, Adebowale Olorunmola, said that the event was to officially bring to a close the IAP programme which was funded by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK .
Olorunmola said that the IAP was implemented from two angles ,one was the angle of inclusivity ,promoting the inclusion of women, youths and persons with disabilities in political participation and also to advance transparency in Nigeria .
“We have been working to promote open government partnership ,with inclusivity we have been promoting politics with value .
“What this means is that as we continue to advocate for increased participation of young persons, we don’t just want their participation for participation sake we want them to change the cause of politics in Nigeria .’’
Olorunmola said WDF wanted youths to bring value and service into politics into politics because they wanted youths to practice politics in a very transparent way and to be accountable to the people.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)reports that highlights of event included cutting of cake to mark 29 years anniversary, video presentation of volunteers sharing experiences, presentation of awards to Volunteers, outstanding performance members among others.
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
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