Politics
Author Wants Youths To Participate In Politics
An author, Mr Abuyere Elvis, says there is need for the older generation politicians to create enabling environment for the youth to explore their political potential and to effectively contribute their quota to national development.
Elvis said this while speaking with newsmen on the sideline of the launch of his book titled:” Run With the Challenges of Life” in Abuja on Saturday.
The author noted that youth had a lot to offer to the country’ s development, but needed a push and encouragement from the older generation of political leaders.
According to him, the youth are not given the desired opportunity to fully participate in the country’s political leadership by older generation of politicians.
He described the situation as unfortunate, saying that “there is need for youths to work towards taking their destiny in their hands in the most civil manner by running with every challenge that came their way.
Elvis, however, advised the youth not to give up on their dreams no matter the circumstances, but to run with whatever challenges that came their way.
He said he was inspired to write the book for people to understand that challenges were part of life and that the ability to run with them, would make one a champion.
According to him, challenges have access to everyone, but doesn’t have control over everybody, saying that the challenges that come before him, do not have capacity to stop the vision that is driving him.
“Challenges of life have access to everybody, and nobody has capacity to stop it, the only way forward is for us to run with it on a daily basis.
“If challenges of life are visible, we will go out and probably want to wage a war against it, but because they are invisible and meet us unprepared, we have to run with them.
“So, I want people to read this book and understand that they can run with challenges of life and become champions irrespective of what they are passing through,” he said.
He noted that the youth had so much dreams to achieve but had many setbacks.
He, therefore, advised that no matter the situation or circumstances they might be passing through in life, they should be courageous and remain focused.
According to him, a lot of dreams have been shattered and lots of youths had given up on their dreams because of the challenges they encountered.
He maintained that one could run with whatever vision God had given him no matter the circumstance around the vision.
Elvis added that at all times, one should be able to understand that he had the inbuilt ability to determine how far he wanted to go in life.
“Because when God gives a man a vision, he equips him internally on how to fulfil that vision.
“When you are able to discover your purpose in life and unveil the vision within you, you will be able to run with it,” he said.
Also speaking, one of conveners of the event, Mr Pelumi Olajendesi, said youths were essential currency, needed to move the country forward.
He added that youths had a lot to do to ensure that we had a greater society, saying that:”young people are more energetic, more innovative and they can contribute more to national development”.
Olajendesi noted that recent events had showed that most of the country’s older citizens in government run the system, using the ideas and energy of the younger ones.
He said that it was therefore, very essential that more young Nigerians were brought into the political space for national development.
He said there was also the need to address our general culture and political value system, to ensure the recruitment of sound young people to take over positions of leadership in the country.
He said though young people were making efforts to get into the political system and contribute their quota to national development, they needed support.
“Yes, opportunities are not given on a platter of gold, they are taken, but the truth is that we have a system that has actually excluded the young people.
“So it is not about opportunities, we are not going to encourage people to resort to violence, but we will keep making efforts and participating.
“And, the way to go about that is to give clarion call to young people to understand the political process and participate in it.
“And it starts with getting your Personal Voters’ Card (PVC), getting registered with political parties and participate in political activities.
“Because if you are not involved, no one will call you to come and participate in the political system,” he said.
Olajendesi, however, noted that though a lot of young people were interested and were participating in political activities in the country, they were not being given opportunities to serve or contribute their quota to national development.
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar
A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.